BANGOR – An East Machias man on Wednesday changed his plea to guilty in importing the painkiller Dilaudid into the country from Canada.

Brett Reid, 20, faces the possibility of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine or both.

The change-of-plea hearing took place at U.S. District Court in Bangor. U.S. District Judge George Z. Singal presided.

Reid was arrested Aug. 16 after a border patrol agent spotted him crossing a railroad trestle in an effort to reach Baring from Canada.

The agent apprehended the defendant when he entered the United States, and a subsequent search revealed 140 Dilaudid pills, two hypodermic needles and a small quantity of cocaine.

Reid later said he had bought 143 Dilaudid pills from a dealer in Canada paying about $20 per pill. Reid said he purchased the pills for his own use and to sell to others, according to a paper titled the “government’s version of the offense.”

The Aug. 16 arrest was the second time in August that Reid had been stopped by border officials. Earlier in the month, Reid was summoned and charged with possession of OxyContin and Dilaudid after he and another man tried to enter the United States in the Baring area. At that time, the two men were taken to the U.S. Customs office in Calais and each fined $5,000 for failing to report to U.S. Customs after they entered the country from St. Stephen, New Brunswick. The other man’s name was not revealed by customs officials.