MDEA Seizes over Two Pounds of Fentanyl

The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency seized over two pounds of Fentanyl early Wednesday morning and arrested a Portland man who is charged with selling it.

Working with Portland Police, MDEA agents charged 21-year-old Hunter S. York of Portland with Aggravated Trafficking in Schedule W Drugs (Fentanyl).

On Tuesday agents from the MDEA Cumberland District Task Force and officers from the Portland Police Crime Reduction Unit began investigating reports of drug trafficking from 115 Dartmouth Street in Portland.

York lives at the residence and was suspected of distributing various illegal drugs, including fentanyl throughout Cumberland and York counties.

Early Wednesday morning, York was stopped by Portland Police on Forest Avenue in Portland operating a 2003 Ford Mustang. He was arrested after being found in possession of fentanyl and two firearms.

Drug Agents searched his apartment and seized over two pounds of fentanyl in powder and tablet form. Also seized were over 125 Ecstasy capsules, another widely abused drug.   Agents also seized $15,000 in suspected drug proceeds and two additional guns stored with the fentanyl. One of the firearms is believed to have been stolen in Saco last year.

York was transported to the Cumberland County Jail where bail was set at $100,000.

Drug Agents said the fentanyl seizure, which has a street value of $140,000, along with the four guns, will have a significant impact on the drug’s distribution from Portland to Saco.

Fentanyl has been one of the leading causes of drug deaths in Maine and the country, said police. The drug is so powerful that the equivalent of a few grains of salt can be deadly.

The drug is manufactured on the black market outside Maine and MDEA is working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to identify, disrupt and prosecute York’s out of state supplier.

The investigation is ongoing, and several others involved with York’s distribution have been identified. Additional arrests are expected.