RUMFORD, Maine — Two people have been arrested in connection with alleged trafficking of the drug fentanyl, according to officials.
Rashaud Lavoie, 23, and Marianela Rodriquez, 39, both of Rumford, are facing a charge of aggravated trafficking in fentanyl, a Class A crime, according to Maine Drug Enforcement Agency Commander Scott Pelletier.
Fentanyl is 40 to 50 times more potent than heroin and has been blamed for a number of overdose deaths in Maine and nationwide. The drug is commonly sold as heroin or mixed with heroin unknown to the buyer, and increases a person’s chance of overdosing, Pelletier said.
On Friday, MDEA agents, Rumford police and sheriff’s deputies from Oxford and Franklin counties executed a search warrant at an apartment rented by Lavoie and Rodriquez, where the alleged distribution was occurring, Pelletier said.
Seized during the search were 7.5 grams of fentanyl that Rodriquez was concealing. The drugs have a street value of $1,500.
This marks the second time in less than a year drug agents have raided the residence, as Lavoie was arrested on an aggravated heroin trafficking charge last August, and had been out on bail on that charge at the time of his arrest Friday.
Lavoie and Rodriquez were taken to the Oxford County Jail, where bail for Rodriquez was set at $15,000. Lavoie is being held without bail.
