Nearly a pound of cocaine was taken from a Webster Street apartment.
LEWISTON – Local and federal drug agents stormed a Webster Street apartment early Tuesday, seizing nearly a pound of cocaine, a gun and hundreds in cash.
A couple was arrested in what investigators described as part of a larger trafficking operation that moves powdered cocaine through the region.
Raymond Lemieux, 42, and Della Mae Lemieux, 40, each was charged with aggravated trafficking in cocaine and marijuana.
The gun and the amount of drugs found inside the 24 Webster St. apartment may result in federal charges against the couple, investigators said.
Police said they confiscated a .380 semi-automatic handgun as well as more than $500 in cash when they raided the first-floor apartment.
Agents from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Central Maine Violent Crimes Task Force went to the apartment near Webster and Leeds streets shortly before midnight.
Accompanied by U.S. Marshals and Lewiston police, agents burst into the apartment where they found the couple preparing cocaine for consumption, police said.
A 6-year-old girl, who was sleeping in the home at the time of the raid, was handed over to a relative of the couple and the Department of Human Services was contacted.
Agents who searched the apartment said they found more than 10 ounces of powdered cocaine, pre-packaged for distribution.
More than a half-dozen baggies were found, each containing an ounce of cocaine. Those bags would have sold for $1,000, drug agents said. Smaller bags containing roughly an eighth of an ounce were selling for up to $250 on the street.
Police also seized several bags of marijuana, scales for weighing the dope and ledgers containing details of drug transactions.
Agents raided the Lemieux home after an ongoing investigation led to information that cocaine was being warehoused in the apartment. Investigators said the couple was keeping the drugs for other dealers while selling quantities of it to regular buyers.
Drug investigators and agents from the Central Maine Violent Crimes Task Force were preparing to present their case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for possible federal prosecution.
Ray and Della Lemieux remained at the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn Tuesday, each being held on $10,000 cash bail.
According to an arrest report, Della Lemieux works as a security dispatcher for an unspecified Lewiston company. Ray Lemieux’s occupation was not listed.
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