FARMINGTON — Two Canadians were indicted Tuesday on charges related to trafficking in cocaine after they were stopped at the Coburn Gore Township entry point into Maine on Nov. 12, 2021. Police allege they had 4.63 pounds of cocaine in their luggage.
Jermaine T. Phillips, 41, of Brampton and Shanna C. Brown, 38, of Cornwall, both in province of Ontario, were each indicted on charges of aggravated trafficking in schedule W drugs – cocaine, and illegal importation of scheduled drugs.
Jermaine Phillips Franklin County Detention Center photo
Phillips and Brown remain at the Franklin County Detention Center held in lieu of $350,000 and $100,000 bail, respectively.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent Kenneth Bradley contacted a MDEA special agent Nov. 12 and told him Phillips and Brown crossed into the U.S. with 4.63 pounds, or 2,100 grams, of suspected cocaine hydrochloride powder. The drug agent went to the Coburn Gore Port of Entry and met with Bradley who advised him that the couple told him they “accidentally” came to the border crossing and entered the U.S., according to a drug agent’s affidavit.
The pair says the GPS they were using took them that way and they did not see that they were entering the United States.
During an interview with border patrol and Bradley, a K-9 was alerted to the trunk of the couple’s vehicle. Inside the trunk was luggage, including a suitcase officials say contained 4.63 pounds of suspected cocaine powder.
Shanna Brown Franklin County Detention Center photo
Border patrol agents tested both bricks of the suspected cocaine and received a presumptive positive result for the drug on both bricks, according to the affidavit.
The amount of cocaine found equaled 2,100 grams with a street value for a gram of cocaine powder ranging between $100 and $200 a gram, totaling $210,000 to $420,000, respectively, Assistant Attorney General David Fisher said during a previous court appearance.
The couple are not U.S. citizens and have no connection to Maine, he said.
A conviction on a charge of aggravated trafficking carries a maximum 30 years in prison and up to a $50,000 fine. A conviction on a charge of illegal importation is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $20,000 fine.
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