SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — A New York man is accused of making weekly trips to Maine, often via a Concord Coach Lines bus, to sell fentanyl and cocaine, according to a release Monday from Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) Commander Scott Pelletier.
Pelletier said Jerome Morris, 33, of Bronx, New York, is charged with aggravated trafficking in schedule W drugs (fentanyl) and aggravated trafficking in schedule drugs (cocaine base). Both are class A crimes, according to Pelletier.
Over the past two weeks, agents from the MDEA's Cumberland District Task Force have been investigating the importation of illegal drugs into Maine. During the investigation, Pelletier said agents learned of Morris, who allegedly uses the street name "Ice," through citizen tips.
On Saturday evening, agents allege they saw Morris arrive in Portland on a Concord Coach Lines bus. Agents, assisted by South Portland police, then stopped a taxi Morris had gotten into at the bus terminal, according to Pelletier.
During the traffic stop on Broadway in South Portland, agents said they located about 495 grams of cocaine base, 174 grams of fentanyl, and $623 in suspected drug proceeds. The approximate value of the seized drugs is $55,000, according to officials.
Morris was arrested and transported to the Cumberland County Jail without incident.
His bail has been set at $40,000 cash.
