Man arrested after $3M price of medicine shipped to restaurant
Workers of a Maine restaurant received a shock once they opened a big picket crate that they thought was a cargo of mugs they’d lately ordered
AUBURN, Maine — Workers of a Maine restaurant received a shock once they opened a big picket crate that they thought was a cargo of mugs they’d lately ordered.
As an alternative, they discovered a plastic tote that contained what regulation enforcement suspect is 14 kilograms (31 kilos) of the highly effective artificial opioid fentanyl with an estimated avenue worth of $3 million, Auburn police Deputy Chief Timothy Cougle mentioned in a press release Saturday.
The tote had a transport label with the restaurant’s handle however the title of somebody who didn’t work there. Workers who opened it noticed what they thought seemed like medicine, so that they contacted police, Cougle mentioned.
The crate from Arizona that arrived within the Maine city about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Portland was taken to the police division, the place a chemical area examination confirmed it contained fentanyl.
About an hour later, the person whose title was on the cargo confirmed up on the lookout for the crate and was arrested, police mentioned.
Jeremy Mercier, 41, of Auburn, was charged with drug offenses and for violating bail circumstances. He’s being held in a county jail with out bail. It couldn’t be decided if he had an lawyer.
Mercier beforehand hung out behind bars on a 2007 federal drug conviction, Cougle mentioned.
The investigation is ongoing, and Cougle mentioned he anticipates state and federal regulation enforcement getting concerned.
Mike Peters, the co-owner of Mac’s Grill, instructed WMTW-TV in an electronic mail that he’s glad the medicine didn’t make it to the streets.
“The cases of overdose in our, and surrounding, communities is terrible, and fentanyl appears to be entrance and heart relating to fatalities,” he mentioned. “It is rather unhappy.”
