The men alleged bought crack cocaine in Massachusetts and brought it to Lewiston.
By Mark LaFlamme
Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Police arrested three men at Maine Turnpike Exit 13 Wednesday night and charged the trio with bringing crack cocaine into the city.

Officers stopped the car the men were riding in after receiving a tip that they had recently purchased crack cocaine in Massachusetts.

Police and drug agents who searched the Chevrolet Prizm said they found crack rocks hidden in various locations inside the car.

The three men were searched, handcuffed and loaded into cruisers, charge with drug trafficking and importation of crack.

A woman who was driving the car was searched and questioned but she was not immediately charged. Police stopped the car about 6 p.m. as it was driven off the highway exit ramp and onto Lisbon Street.

Agents from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency were called to the scene to collect evidence and file charges against the men.

An hour after the group was stopped, investigators were still attempting to learn the identities of the suspects through criminal records.

MDEA agents were continuing to investigate late Wednesday and the names of the suspects were not immediately available. Police said the three men are from the Lewiston area.

It was not clear how much crack cocaine was found inside the car. Agents were assisted in their search by Sarge, a Lewiston police dog trained to sniff out street drugs.

MDEA officials said the arrests Wednesday night were part of the ongoing effort to target people who buy crack in lower New England states and then sell it in the Lewiston area.

mlaflamme@sunjournal.com

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