RUMFORD – Seven people were arrested Thursday on drug charges after being indicted by the Oxford County grand jury this week. Another eight were picked up as the result of Operation Gallant Effort and Operation Rum-Mex Rx, newly appointed Rumford police Chief Stacy Carter said.
“This is the culmination of close to a yearlong collaborative investigation,” he said, seated behind the desk of retiring Chief Timothy Bourassa, whose last day is today.
“We didn’t intend for it to happen just before the holidays, but the grand jury met in mid-December and handed down over 20 indictments with arrest warrants ranging from Class D misdemeanor drug trafficking to Class A felony aggravated drug trafficking,” Carter said.
The multi-agency operations began at 9 a.m. in Rumford as 25 officers wearing bulletproof vests and sporting headsets and earphones waited for their assignments. By 3:30 p.m. the Rumford police station was bustling with prisoners being booked and bailed or jailed.
Arrest warrants were issued for 17 suspected drug traffickers. A few others wanted on other charges unrelated to drugs were inadvertently swept up, also.
The first half of the operation was named for retired Detective Wayne Gallant, now Wilton’s police chief, because he began the investigation, Carter said. The second half was named for Rumford and Mexico police departments “because we’ve dealt a lot with prescription drug trafficking,” he added.
Drugs involved in Thursday’s arrests included cocaine, heroin, prescription narcotics, morphine sulfate, Hydrocodone, methadone in tablet and liquid doses, and marijuana.
“They’ve seized small amounts of drugs, but we’re not done yet,” Carter said.
The cases involved residents of Bethel, Buckfield, Mexico, Rumford, Peru, Norway, Paris, Gray and Lewiston, he said.
Most of those transactions took place in in Rumford, Mexico and Peru, Carter said. Suspects also conducted drug sales in Norway, Paris and Turner.
“Some of the 17 certainly were connected with each other, but a lot of them are individuals working independently” selling drugs, Carter said.
These arrests “are certainly going to make an impact, but the investigations are continuing. All of these communities are not necessarily having one particular problem. It’s wide-ranging,” he said.
A statement Thursday from Carter, Mexico Chief James Theriault and Roy McKinney, director of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency stated the arrests were made possible by special funding to the Rumford and Mexico departments from the New England State Police Information Network. The statement said several Franklin County and MDEA undercover officers and several local confidential informants were used during the investigation to buy drugs from the variety of suspects.
In addition, other police departments assisting were Wilton, Norway, Paris and Oxford, the Franklin and Oxford County Sheriff’s Departments, and the Violent Crimes Task Force.
Carter also credited staff at the District Attorney’s office and courts for their work in the process.
Thursday’s arrests “will provide some soberness in the community this holiday, because people aren’t going to have the drugs supplied to them now. I think that’s a benefit for the community and the children,” Carter added.
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