PERU – A Ridge Road couple was arrested late Tuesday morning on drug charges as they returned home from a week-long trip to Florida.

Linwood L. Giberson III, 32, and girlfriend Jennifer Gatchell, 33, both of 91 Ridge Road, were charged with aggravated trafficking in crack cocaine, according to Roy E. McKinney, director of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Gatchell, who is unemployed, was initially charged with possession of cocaine and released on personal recognizance bail after the pair was transported to Oxford County Jail in Paris.

Giberson, a self-employed carpenter, was charged with aggravated trafficking in crack cocaine. Bail was set at $30,000 cash.

But, because he also violated probation conditions stemming from an Oct. 3, 2003, conviction, Giberson was being held without bail pending arraignment later this week and a probation violation hearing, McKinney stated in a press release.

“Giberson was charged with ‘aggravated’ trafficking because of his prior convictions in Maine for felony drug trafficking,” McKinney stated.

On Wednesday, drug enforcement agent Tony Milligan said the department had “probable cause” that Giberson and Gatchell would be returning from Florida with drugs.

On Monday evening MDEA issued a statewide alert for officers to watch for Giberson and Gatchell in their 1995 Isuzu Rodeo, McKinney said.

Late Tuesday morning, Oxford County Sheriff’s deputies spotted Giberson and Gatchell in the Rodeo, stopping them along Route 108 in Canton.

“Deputies searched the car and found evidence of crack cocaine manufacturing, which included cocaine base, cocaine hydrochloride residue, baking soda, cooking paraphernalia, digital drug scales with cocaine residue, and several hundred dollars in suspected proceeds intended for the purchase or derived from the sale of illegal drugs,” McKinney stated.

Immediately after stopping the pair, the MDEA obtained a search warrant for the couple’s residence. There, the deputies and drug enforcement agents found more crack cocaine, cocaine powder, unidentified pills, drug packaging for distribution, financial records, and crack cocaine manufacturing paraphernalia, McKinney stated.

If convicted, Giberson is facing a minimum mandatory prison sentence of four years and maximum of 40, McKinney said.

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