PORTLAND – A 30-year-old man remains in federal custody after a Dec. 16 drug bust on Providence Street that netted 30 pounds of marijuana and about $18,000 in cash.
Joseph McGee is charged with possession and distribution of marijuana. McGee was arrested after a three-month investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and Portland police.
McGee waived his right to a bail hearing in U.S. District Court, and will be held in federal custody as his case progresses. If convicted, he would face a maximum of five years in prison.
Also arrested was McGee’s alleged buyer, Roger Charest of Auburn.
Charest, 43, is charged with possessing about 14 pounds of marijuana as he was driving away from McGee’s house. He has been released on $5,000 bond.
Special Agent Daniel Woolbert of the ATF led the investigation. Acting on a tip from an informant, Woolbert made contact with McGee in September, according to an affidavit filed by the agent.
In his undercover role, Woolbert said he spoke to McGee several times about buying several types of drugs, and possibly a semiautomatic pistol.
During multiple phone calls in early December, McGee allegedly told Woolbert he was selling marijuana for $2,400 per pound, but would drop the price to around $1,250 per pound if Woolbert agreed to buy at least 10 pounds.
“McGee told me that there would not be any problem with him getting that amount,” Woolbert said in the affidavit.
Woolbert arranged to buy 10 pounds of marijuana at McGee’s residence on Dec. 16, and he obtained a search warrant. That afternoon, a surveillance team saw a man drive away from the home after picking up a package. Agents from the MDEA and Portland police stopped the truck driven by Charest. The agents seized the box, which allegedly contained 14 1/2 pounds of marijuana. Another 16 pounds of marijuana was found at McGee’s residence.
According to the affidavit, Charest admitted buying the marijuana for just under $18,000 in cash, and McGee admitted selling it to Charest.
Another man at McGee’s house at the time, believed to be McGee’s supplier, has not been charged.
Staff Writer Trevor Maxwell can be contacted at 791-6451 or at:
tmaxwell@pressherald.com
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