PORTER, Maine — Two brothers from Porter were arrested Thursday after personnel from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Maine State Police discovered a significant marijuana growing operation at the laundromat they own.
Mark Viera, 54, and Richard Vieira, 55, each are charged with cultivating marijuana, a Class C felony that carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
The raid was the result of an investigation into a substantial marijuana grow that Royle initiated on June 3, according to a state police news release.
The arrests happened about 10:45 a.m. at Village Laundry on Bridge Street in Porter after state police Trooper Martin Royle, assisted by MDEA agents and members of the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office, searched the laundromat’s storage area and several other locations.
The search turned up 11 pounds of processed marijuana and 109 live plants, police said.
Royle pegged the estimated street value of the seized pot at $80,000.