RUMFORD — Two suspected drug dealers were picked up during a warrant sweep Friday in Rumford and Mexico.

Kevin Michael Arsenault, 38, of 3 Spring St., in Mexico, was charged with two counts of selling cocaine from his home, Rumford police Chief Stacy Carter said in a report.

Aaron Moses Brasuell, 34, of 21 Rumford Ave., in Rumford, was charged with two counts of selling the prescription painkillers Percocet and OxyContin from his home, Carter said.

Arsenault was released on $100,000 worth of real estate, but Brasuell was unable to post the same bail, so he was taken to Oxford County Jail in Paris. Both men will be arraigned on July 5 in Oxford County Superior Court in Paris.

“Additional evidence relating to drug trafficking was seized during the arrests, and a decision will be made next week whether additional charges will be brought,” Carter said.

“Others wanted on drug charges were not at home but are expected to be apprehended soon,” he said.

Carter said all four Class A felony crimes are considered aggravated drug trafficking, because the men are accused of selling drugs within established “safe zones,” defined as areas where children play and attend school.

That elevates the charges to a higher class of crime and brings stiffer penalties, a minimum mandatory four-year sentence if convicted, Carter said.

Additionally, he said, Arsenault has previous felony and misdemeanor convictions for drug trafficking.

Carter said police from Rumford and Mexico and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency agents served the arrest warrants following an undercover investigation led by the MDEA and Rumford police. It began last fall, “targeting cocaine and pharmaceutical painkiller dealers peddling their drugs.

“The emphasis on this investigation and today’s resulting arrests are to provide a better quality of life here in the Rumford area,” Carter said. “We propose to do that by impacting the availability of drugs by focusing our efforts on the distributors.

“Our goal is to allow this time for users to break free of the cycle of drug use and look for alternatives, such as treatment and counseling to better their quality of life,” he said.

“A big thank-you to all the agencies that participated and citizens that provide information and support to clearly make this area a better place to live, work and play. Anyone can provide information through our website, www.rumfordpd.com, or by calling 364-4551.”

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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