2 charged with bringing OxyContin into U.S.

BANGOR – A Brewer man and a Canadian man are facing federal drug charges for allegedly bringing OxyContin into Maine from New Brunswick.

Joshua W. Delmonaco, 27, of Brewer is free on a $10,000 unsecured bond after being arrested last week.

In a separate incident, Thomas Michael Daigle, 30, of Oak Bay, New Brunswick, was arrested Saturday after crossing the border on foot near Milltown.

Each is charged with the importation of a controlled substance. If convicted, each man faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

A hearing to determine whether Daigle will be released on bail or detained until his case is resolved is scheduled to be held today in U.S. District Court in Bangor.

Delmonaco was stopped Thursday, March 3, at the Milltown port of entry in Calais after Customs and Border Protection agents received a tip that he might be smuggling drugs. His dark blue Crown Victoria was stopped about 9 p.m. when he attempted to return to Maine from Milltown, New Brunswick.

He was taken to the Calais Regional Hospital after agents found that he was concealing an “off-white foreign object” in his anal cavity. The following day, after several enemas, Delmonaco passed a plastic package containing 59 oxycodone pills.

Daigle was arrested Saturday after border agents found 142 oxycodone pills in his pants pocket. He was detected by an electronic intrusion device when he crossed the border on foot near the Milltown Trestle.