PALMYRA — One man was arrested and more than $100,000 worth of illegal drugs were confiscated after a search warrant was executed Thursday morning, authorities say.
About a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of cocaine was seized at a residence on Madawaska Road, along with an unspecified amount of fentanyl, a loaded 9 mm pistol and more than $2,500 in suspected drug proceeds, Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said in a news release.
The drugs have an estimated street value of about $100,000, according to the sheriff’s office. The pistol’s serial numbers had been ground off.
Several suspects inside the house attempted to escape when sheriff’s deputies carried out the search warrant, Lancaster said, but all were taken into custody shortly after.
“When entry was made into the residence, four persons fled the residence on foot, all persons were apprehended after a short foot chase,” Lancaster said.
Kasiem D. Smith, 29, of Worcester, Massachusetts, was arrested at the residence at around 9:30 a.m. Thursday on charges of aggravated trafficking in a Schedule W drug, criminal simulation, and possession of scheduled drugs. Smith is being held at the Somerset County Jail on $250,000 bail.
The other people in the house are expected to be charged with drug trafficking and possession offenses in the coming days, once the Somerset County District Attorney’s Office reviews the case, Lancaster said.
Madawaska Road runs south from Route 2, also known as Main Street, along the east side of Douglas Pond to the Pittsfield town line.
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