A Winthrop woman and a New York City man are facing trafficking charges after a search of the woman’s Main Street home uncovered more than 700 doses of heroin as well as money and a firearm, police said.

Bridget Drayton, 32, and John Cedeno, 19, have each been charged with aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs. Both charges are class A felonies because the drugs were being sold within a school zone and involved a firearm, Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said in a news release.

Drayton also has been charged with two counts of class B trafficking in heroin.

Drayton and Cedeno are being held at the Kennebec County jail in lieu of $25,000 and $50,000 cash bail, respectively. Both are expected to make an initial court appearance on Wednesday.

Drayton was arrested Monday night after a traffic stop on Main Street, McCausland said. Police and agents then searched her home at 230 Main St. and found Cedeno inside. Police seized nearly 40 grams of heroin, which amounts to more than 700 doses, as well as a .38 caliber revolver and ammunition, McCausland said. Police also seized several thousand dollars.

McCausland said the arrests follow a two-month investigation by Winthrop police and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency into the distribution of heroin in the Winthrop area.

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“Through this investigation, agents, with the assistance of Winthrop officers, were able to identify a local woman and New York man who were suspected of being involved,” McCausland said in the release. “The investigation included the undercover purchase of heroin from both.”

Drayton was sentenced in 2004 to serve the first 21 days of a four-year prison sentence, followed by three years of probation, after pleading guilty to unlawful possession of scheduled drugs. She was arrested after police found her with three bags of heroin.

Evert Fowle, Kennebec County’s district attorney at the time, said Drayton had enrolled in counseling and treatment, including a methadone program. Fowle, explaining the light sentence, said Drayton was working hard at rehabilitation.

“My office and the court is going to give her a chance,” Fowle said at the time. “Our approach is, if people possess heroin and have not been in trouble before, we will focus on getting them help and treatment.”


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