LEWISTON – Four men were arrested Sunday night as the result of a months-long investigation targeting suspects who move crack cocaine between New York and Lewiston.

The men were arrested while leaving a Lisbon Street motel after police and drug agents kept the suspects under surveillance most of Sunday afternoon, officials said.

Since spring, local, state and federal agents have been investigating a Bronx man believed to be distributing crack in Lewiston and Auburn.

That man, 37-year-old Curtis Thurman, was charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute crack after police stopped the car he was riding in Sunday night on Lisbon Street.

Investigators said they seized 7.5 ounces of crack worth $42,000 when they arrested Thurman. Because of the amount involved, Thurman was arrested on a federal trafficking charge.

Police said they found another 3.5 grams on 42-year-old Jeffrey Dillingham of Lewiston, who was in a second car pulled over on Lisbon Street. Dillingham was charged with trafficking in crack cocaine.

Investigators said Thurman and Dillingham were seen leaving a room at the Morning Star Inn at 1905 Lisbon St. early Sunday night.

For most of the day, Maine Drug Enforcement agents, Lewiston police and officials from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area had been watching the motel.

Police said Thurman left the motel in a car driven by 28-year-old Willard Allen of Lewiston. Allen was also charged with federal conspiracy to possess and distribute crack.

Dillingham was seen leaving the Morning Star Inn in a car driven by 35-year-old David Moody of Auburn, police said.

When that car was stopped, Moody was arrested on charges of driving with a suspended license after having been declared a habitual offender.

Investigators said the arrests Sunday night were the result of a tip an informant gave Lewiston police. However, Thurman has been the target of an investigation involving several agencies since spring.

In May, Thurman was busted in Portland after getting off a bus arriving from New York City. Police said Thurman was caught with another man found to be carrying 130 grams of cocaine. Investigators said the drugs were bound for Lewiston.

Before the pair was arrested in Portland, police and drug agents in Lewiston had been watching for them at the bus station in Lewiston.

mlaflamme@sunjournal.com

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