LEWISTON — A 38-year-old local woman was arrested late Tuesday after police stopped her car on the turnpike and reported finding 500 oxycodone pills hidden on her body.

Agents from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency were joined by state and Lewiston police in arresting Elizabeth Yvonne Young, according to Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland. Her apartment 6 Perley St. also was searched, according to the statement.

The MDEA and Lewiston Police Department have been investigating trafficking of prescription pills in the Lewiston area for the past year, according to the statement.

Police seized about 500 oxycodone pills worth about $20,000 from Young’s car and a handgun from her apartment, according to McCausland. Young is prohibited from owning or possessing a gun because of a 2009 federal drug trafficking conviction.

Oxycodone is a narcotic prescribed for pain relief and can cause mental or physical dependence when used for a long time.

Young is charged with two counts of aggravated trafficking in schedule drugs with a prior conviction, two counts of aggravated importation of schedule drugs with a prior conviction, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, according to the statement.

Young was taken to the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn where her bail was set at $75,000. 

 

Elizabeth Yvonne Young (Androscoggin County Jail photo)