Three charged in drug-smuggling scheme
Staff Writer
MARS HILL — Two local men and a Florida resident have been charged in a scheme to smuggle drugs from Florida to Maine.
“Following a three-month criminal investigation, agents of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) have charged three men with smuggling large quantities of oxycodone (the active ingredient in commercial prescription drugs such as OxyContin and Percocet) into Aroostook County, where it was being sold,” said Darrell O. Crandall Jr., division commander, MDEA.
Crandall said early this year, MDEA agents received information that Sean Levasseur, 26, of Mars Hill, was receiving oxycodone through a commercial parcel service, which he was selling.
“Agents did surveillance on Levasseur’s Presque Isle Road home and saw a parcel truck make a delivery. Agents subsequently sent an informant to the home and purchased oxycodone from Levasseur,” said Crandall.
Agents continued to watch the residence. The next time a deliver was made, officials executed a search warrant.
“Agents recovered more than 70 “Oxycodone tablets hidden in a ceramic egg and were able to identify the source of the drugs as 49-year-old Keith McKimm, of Spring Hills, Fla.,” Crandall said.
Working with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, agents were able to confirm McKimm’s address and obtained an arrest warrant on him.
“FDLE agents then took McKimm into custody as a fugitive from justice on the Maine warrant. Both McKimm and Levasseur are charged with Class B trafficking in schedule W drugs,” he said.
A third man, identified as Michael Albert, 43, of Mars Hill, has been charged with Class C conspiracy for his role in the criminal activity.
“Agents allege that Albert introduced McKimm and Levasseur and facilitated drug transactions for which he was paid cash. Agents allege that as many as 20 packages were shipped from Florida to Maine over a six-month period, with a total pill count ranging from no less than 1,000 to as many as 5,000,” said Crandall.
At the price Levasseur was reportedly charging, Crandall said the retail value of this enterprise is estimated between $35,000 and $175,000. McKimm waived extradition and MDEA agents will bring him back to Maine in the near future to face the charges.
Anyone with information on drug crimes may call MDEA, toll free, at 800-452-6457 or may go to the MDEA Web site at www.maine.gov/dps/mdea.
