Auburn, Maine: Workers of a Maine restaurant received a shock after they opened a big picket crate that they thought was a cargo of mugs they’d lately ordered.
As an alternative, employees at Mac’s Grill discovered a plastic tote that contained what police suspect is 14 kilograms of the highly effective artificial opioid fentanyl with an estimated road worth of $US3 million ($4.5 million), Auburn police Deputy Chief Timothy Cougle mentioned in a press release on Saturday.
The tote had a delivery label with the restaurant’s tackle however the identify of somebody who didn’t work there. Workers who opened it noticed what they thought regarded like medicine, in order that they contacted police, Cougle mentioned.
The crate from Arizona that arrived within the Maine city about 50 kilometres north of Portland was taken to the police division, the place a chemical discipline examination confirmed it contained fentanyl.
About an hour later, the person whose identify was on the cargo confirmed up on the lookout for the crate and was arrested, police mentioned.
Jeremy Mercier, 41, of Auburn, was charged with drug offences and for violating bail situations. He’s being held in a county jail with out bail. It couldn’t be decided if he had an lawyer.
Mercier beforehand frolicked behind bars on a 2007 federal drug conviction, Cougle mentioned.
The investigation is ongoing, and Cougle mentioned he anticipates state and federal regulation enforcement getting concerned.