Drug-fueled crime hits rural state hard as leaders struggle to find solution

Maine has go a "wholesale organisation hub" for cause dealers successful the Northeast, bringing a slew of transgression to the agrarian state, a constabulary main told Fox News Digital.

The New England state, typically known for its rugged coastline and beauteous autumn foliage, has gradually go filled with illicit drugs arsenic much gangs found themselves successful the area. Chris Martin, constabulary main of the Brewer Police Department successful Maine, told Fox News Digital that his country has turned into a organisation hub for amerciable drugs.

"What we've seen successful the past, peculiarly 4 years, is that our country has turned into a wholesale organisation hub. So, we person kilo quantities disposable of fentanyl and methamphetamine and cocaine. And that's a melodramatic marketplace displacement that we hadn't seen 10, 20 years ago. So the proviso has accrued readily," Martin said.

Martin, who besides serves arsenic the town's nationalist information director, said the emergence successful amerciable drugs has besides brought a emergence successful crime. Since it's often costly to acquisition thoroughfare drugs, Martin said that individuals are turning to transgression successful bid to money their addiction.

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Jesse Harvey, the laminitis of the Church of Safe Injection, with Naloxone helium gives retired to anyone successful request of it extracurricular of his parked car adjacent Kennedy Park successful Lewiston connected Wednesday, October 24, 2018. Harvey passes retired harm simplification tools, similar Naloxone and cleanable needles, from his car successful Lewiston and Biddeford, Maine. (Brianna Soukup/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

"With that, we're besides seeing the beingness of organized crime. Street gangs retired of New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, they're really bringing the proviso here," Martin said. "Drug addiction origin crime. And if you person a 1 oregon 200 oregon $300 a time habit, particularly if it's an opioid similar fentanyl, it doesn't instrumentality a time off. If you don't person the drug, you get sick. So however does anybody spend one, two, $300 time habits each time of the week? You invariably person to perpetrate crimes."

Martin said those crimes see theft, prostitution, quality trafficking, burglary and cause sales. He added that astir 90% of the crimes that his officers are responding to "have a cause nexus."

"All of those things spell manus successful manus and the driving unit is supplying this narco-economy, if you will," Martin said of the emergence of illicit drugs successful Maine. "All these things benignant of marque a cleanable storm."

In Maine, implications are being felt passim the state. On April 1, officials arrested 2 individuals successful Dixfield who were allegedly successful possession of "225 grams of cocaine and ace cocaine, 10 grams of fentanyl, assorted unidentified capsules and pills, 3 loaded firearms, and $ 4,350 successful cause proceeds," officials told News Center Maine.

"I person ne'er seen thing similar what we're experiencing present successful Maine."

In Bangor, Maine, 27-year-old Dylan Caruso was changeable to decease implicit $600 owed to different antheral for drugs successful 2024, according to FOX 23.

According to the Connecticut Post, a convicted slayer who was arrested successful October 2024 successful Maine was pulled implicit and allegedly recovered to beryllium successful possession of a loaded firearm and drugs. The individual, Cyrus Griffin, wasn't allowed to permission the authorities of Connecticut.

Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said successful September 2023 that fentanyl is liable for 80% of each cause deaths passim the state.

State lawmakers are divided connected however to onslaught the illicit cause epidemic.

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Jesse Harvey, the laminitis of the Church of Safe Injection, shows immoderate volunteers what helium hands retired to clients from his mobile needle speech adjacent Kennedy Park successful Lewiston connected Wednesday, October 24, 2018. Harvey provides clients a harmless spot to dispose of utilized needles, Naloxone, cleanable needles and different items that are seen arsenic harm simplification tools successful the betterment community.  (Brianna Soukup/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

Republican State Sen. Brad Farrin, who mislaid his 26-year-old girl to a cause overdose, projected a measure successful 2023 that would person reclassified the trafficking of fentanyl to a Class A felony. The measure was voted down, chiefly by Democrats.

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Republican Bobby Charles, who is moving for Maine politician and served successful the erstwhile Bush medication arsenic the Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, told Fox News Digital the authorities needs to get much superior astir confronting this epidemic.

"I person ne'er seen thing similar what we're experiencing present successful Maine. This state, erstwhile I grew up successful this state, mightiness person had 5 overdoses successful the full state. Last year, this authorities had 10,000 overdoses, and galore of them fatal," Charles said. "I beryllium down beside radical and they softly thin implicit to maine and say, this happened to maine 2 days ago, I mislaid my girl to fentanyl 2 years ago…Do you cognize what that devastation is like? It's immense and it is inexcusable. It is immoral and it has to beryllium stopped."

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A container of pills that a idiosyncratic dropped disconnected successful the container astatine the cause instrumentality backmost presumption successful the Back Bay parking lot. The presumption was 1 of respective locations passim the Portland country for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. (Brianna Soukup/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)

Charles has placed the blasted squarely connected statewide Democrats and Mills, who, successful his view, haven't done overmuch to trim the travel of amerciable drugs into Maine.

"The traffickers person travel into this state, and due to the fact that the Democrats person chopped the guts retired of instrumentality enforcement, they have, successful my opinion, betrayed them. There isn't a azygous concern successful which a authoritative feels similar helium has capable wealth oregon has the quality to prosecute these cases. They've been abandoned, OK?" Charles said.

"The bottommost enactment is they're trying to crook Maine into interior metropolis Chicago oregon the Badlands of Philly. And I americium not going to basal for it. Mainers are not going to basal for."

Fox News Digital reached retired to Mills' bureau for comment.