BROWNFIELD — Two men were arrested Tuesday after police found 24 grams of heroin and hundreds of prescription pills at the home of one of the men, the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office said.

John Thurston, 45, of 134 Moore Road in Brownfield and Robert Smith, 39, of Lynn, Mass., were charged with aggravated drug trafficking. Smith, a convicted felon, was also charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office.

The arrests followed a monthlong investigation by the Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Maine State Police and the Fryeburg and Conway, N.H., police departments.

Police said the men were involved in dealing heroin and prescription pills in southern Oxford County and Conway, N.H.

The Sheriff’s Office and the MDEA obtained search warrants for Thurston’s home and found 24.3 grams of heroin, hundreds of prescription pills, including methadone and suboxone, and other unidentified drugs. Also seized were digital scales and drug paraphernalia, including hypodermic needles, cooking spoons, packaging material and ledgers listing drug deals, according to the news release.

Thurston and Smith were taken to the Oxford County Jail in Paris. A corrections officer said Wednesday night that Thurston was taken to the Kennebec County Jail in Augusta, where there was an arrest warrant for him. Smith was taken to the Cumberland County Jail in Portland for housing.


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