FARMINGTON — Federal prosecutors are seeking to seize a dozen Franklin County properties by civil forfeiture in connection with marijuana businesses searched last week in Farmington.
State police and federal agents executed search warrants July 21 at several locations in and around Farmington.
An adult use marijuana store at 407 Wilton Road operating as Narrow Gauge Botanicals, LLC and an adult use marijuana cultivation and manufacturing business at 374 High St. operating as Lakemont, LLC were among local businesses searched during the investigation.
Those two properties are included on the list that was filed in a document in federal court by Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Clark on July 23 that served as a notice aiming to seize the properties.
Most of the dozen properties — six of which are in Farmington, two in Industry, two in Rangeley, one in Carrabassett Valley and one in Avon — are believed to be owned by Lucas J. Sirois of Rangeley, who ran marijuana businesses in Farmington.
According to a document filed last week at the Franklin County Registry of Deeds in Farmington, legal action is pending in U.S. District Court involving the properties. Other possible owners listed for the some of the properties include: Robert Sirois, father of Lucas Sirois; Alisa Sirois, wife of Lucas; and Sandy River Properties, LLC, of which Randal Cousineau of Wilton is an owner. Lucas Sirois is also associated with Front Street Investments and Spruce Valley, LLC, both of which are named in the court document.
According to court records, the federal case associated with the forfeiture action is sealed from the public.
The 374 High St. business, known as Narrow Gauge Distributors, is a 60,000-square-foot facility with a laboratory. The 407 Wilton Road business is known as The Homegrown Connection. According to state information, Sirois is the registered agent of Narrow Gauge Distributors Inc. and The Homegrown Connection LLC.
According to the court document, which names the federal government as plaintiff, the civil forfeiture complaint alleges that the properties can be forfeited under federal laws “which provide for the forfeiture of all proceeds of and/or real property that facilitated drug trafficking in violation of the Controlled Substances Act . . . which provides for the forfeiture of any real or personal property involved in a money laundering transaction . . . or property traceable to such property.”
As of Thursday, no criminal charges had been filed in federal court against Lucas Sirois, or his father, Robert.
Robert Sirois of Farmington was one of four men arrested in 2009 on charges of trafficking in marijuana and cultivating marijuana. Drug agents seized more than 30 pounds of harvested marijuana at an Industry home and another 125 plants growing in a basement.
Sirois pleaded guilty in June 2010 to trafficking and cultivation and was sentenced to five years with all but nine months and a day suspended on both charges, which were served concurrently. The sentence also included three years of probation on the first charge and two years probation on the second charge, and a fine of $20,000 plus court surcharges that brought that amount to $24,050.
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