FARMINGTON — Two Farmington men were arrested Thursday on charges of aggravated drug trafficking following a joint investigation by local authorities that spanned months.

Mark Barrett, 59, an Guy Stevens, 42, were each arrested on charges of aggravated trafficking of unlawful drugs and illegal importation of drugs shortly after midnight on Thursday morning when they were stopped by Farmington Police Officer Erin Gilbert while driving back to Farmington with heroin in the vehicle.

A search of Barret’s 2006 Honda Accord yielded more than 1.3 ounces of heroin, which has an approximate street value of $6,000 to $8,000, according to Farmington Police Chief Jack Peck. Barrett was also armed with a loaded handgun at the time of the arrest, which elevated both trafficking charges to a Class A felony.

The investigation — which included the Farmington Police Department, the Wilton Police Department, the Franklin County Sheriff’s )office, and Maine State Police – had received a tip earlier in the week that the two men would be driving back to Farmington and got search warrants on the men’s homes and vehicles.

Following the vehicle stop and arrests, officers from the four agencies involved executed search warrants on the men’s residences, both of which are on Lucy Knowles Road.

The search of Barrett’s residence turned up “hundreds of small zip-lock plastic baggies, typically used for packaging and re-sale of illegal drugs,” a release from Peck said.

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Also found in Barrett’s home were three shotguns, five rifles, twelve handguns and multiple boxes of ammunition.

All items, including Barrett’s car, were seized as evidence.

A search of Stevens’ home produced no evidence pertinent to the investigation, Peck said.

It is not yet known where Barrett and Stevens were traveling from when they were arrested on trafficking charges, but Peck said the investigation is still ongoing and determining where the men were allegedly importing heroin from is a key point of the investigation moving forward.

Peck couldn’t say if additional charges would be brought against the men in connection to the alleged trafficking.

Lauren Abbate — 861-9252

labbate@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @Lauren_M_Abbate


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