Maine police confiscate more than 30 pounds of fentanyl

AUBURN, Maine — A Maine man is accused of having more than 30 pounds of fentanyl delivered to a restaurant, authorities said.

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According to a Facebook post by the Auburn Police Department, Jeremy Mercier, 41, of Auburn, was charged with aggravated illegal importation of scheduled drugs, a felony; aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs, a felony; and violation of conditional release, a misdemeanor.

Mercier allegedly had a large wooden crate from Arizona delivered to an Auburn restaurant on Friday, the Bangor Daily News reported.

Employees believed that the package was an order of mugs, but upon opening it discovered that it was filled with drugs.

Workers found a plastic tote filled with several black-wrapped bags that contained fentanyl, Auburn police Deputy Chief Timothy Cougle told the newspaper on Saturday.

The tote allegedly had a shipping label with Mercier’s name on it. WGME-TV reported.

Police took the crate to the police department for testing and confirmed that it contained fentanyl, the Auburn police said on Facebook.

Mercier was arrested when he arrived at the restaurant later Friday and allegedly asked about the shipment, WGME reported.

Police said there were 14 kilos (30.86 pounds) of fentanyl discovered. The resale street value of the drug was more than $3 million, police said.

In addition to the fentanyl, police seized $2,780 from Mercier, which was suspected to be drug proceeds, according to the Daily News.

Mercier was convicted on Aug. 13, 2007, on a federal charge of distributing cocaine, police said. He served several years in federal prison.

Mercier was being held without bail at the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn, the Daily News reported.

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