Federal and state law enforcement were gathered in large numbers at two Farmington marijuana businesses and other locations in the area for what the FBI called “court-authorized activity” in connection with an ongoing investigation.
At about 9 a.m. on Tuesday, authorities had gathered at Homegrown Connection and Narrow Gauge Distributors in Farmington and could be seen piling what appeared to be marijuana plants outside the back of one of those locations. More than 14 state police cruisers were there, as well as unmarked vehicles from several New England states, according to the Sun Journal.
FBI spokesperson Kristen Setera said the FBI conducted “court-authorized activity” in Farmington as well as Livermore in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Attorneys Office. She told the Bangor Daily News that the investigation involves “several” locations in the state but declined to name them. Setera also said there is no risk to public safety.
According to its website, Narrow Gauge Distributors is “the largest cannabis distribution company in Maine” and “known as a pioneer in the field of cannabis, CBD, cultivation, and research and development.” Homegrown Connection is an indoor and outdoor gardening supply shop, according to its Facebook page.
Both businesses are linked to Luke Sirois of Rangeley, who is the registered agent for Narrow Gauge Distributors in documents filed with the Maine secretary of state and has owned the Homegrown Connection for roughly a decade. Sirois’ cellphone went straight to voicemail when a reporter called on Tuesday afternoon.
He is a well-known player in Maine’s medical marijuana industry who applied for three of the state’s eight dispensary licenses at the outset of the medical program in 2010. His biography on the website of a cannabis tissue and genomics company that he sits on the board of calls him “a strong and vocal advocate for public policy.”
BDN writers Caitlin Andrews and Michael Shepherd contributed to this report.