Police arrested a New Hampshire man and woman after finding 280 doses of fentanyl in their residence and cars in Fairfield on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office.
Justin A. Beauchesne, 35, of Fairfield and New Hampshire, was charged with aggravated trafficking in a schedule W drug, a Class A felony, and possession of a schedule W drug, a Class C felony. The trafficking charge is aggravated due to prior felony-related drug convictions against Beauchesne in New Hampshire.
Kristi Vigue, 26, of Epping, New Hampshire, was charged with trafficking in a schedule W drug, a Class B felony, and possession of a schedule W drug, a Class C felony.
Additional charges may be brought against both Vigue and Beauchesne as the investigation continues, the release says.
The sheriff’s office received a search warrant for Beauchesne’s house at 5 Cardinal Drive in Fairfield after a months-long investigaiton, according to Sheriff Dale Lancaster. A team of eight deputy sheriffs, a lieutenant detective, a Maine Drug Enforcement agent and a Fairfield police officer executed the search warrant on Halloween at 10:30 a.m.
Police entered the home “without incident,” the release says, and found 28.95 grams of fentanyl powder after searching the home, property and cars. They also found $2,500 in cash, digital scales, drug-related documents, a number of illegally possessed controlled pills and other drug-related paraphernalia.
The drugs have a street value of about $5,600. The fentanyl seized is equivalent to 280 individual doses.
Beauchesne and Vigue were both taken to the Somerset County Jail. Beauchesne is being held on $20,000 cash bail, while Vigue is being held on $10,000 cash bail.
The sheriff’s office has been investigating operations that are bringing heroin and fentanyl into Maine from other states and sold in the Somerset County area.
“The investigation is continuing and charges may be forthcoming against others involved in this drug trafficking investigation,” Lancaster said.
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