Police find collectibles in drug raid

PITTSTON – Expensive collectibles found during a drug raid at the home of a Pittston couple point to their long-term involvement in a large-scale and highly profitable marijuana trafficking operation, authorities said Friday.

Kennebec County sheriff’s deputies seized 51 pounds of processed marijuana, $114,000 in cash and a large amount of packing material, scales and ledgers when they arrested Robert James, 54, and his wife, Sandra, 53, on Thursday.

The couple, who have no prior criminal history, were being held on $500,000 bail each on charges of aggravated drug trafficking.

“One of the striking aspects of this case was the extensive amount of collectible artifacts and memorabilia that were obtained in the house,” said Sheriff Randall Liberty, who suggested that the Jameses were purchasing such objects as a way to launder drug profits.

Liberty quoted Robert James as saying he does not work and that his wife makes an average salary from her job at a local business.

They remained at the Kennebec County Jail late Friday afternoon. It was unclear whether they’d hired a lawyer to represent them.

Their collections, the sheriff said, included baseball bats signed by Mickey Mantle, expensive rare coins and Nazi collectibles such a set of Adolf Hitler’s dinnerware and monogrammed handkerchief.

In addition to having “a very large bank account,” the couple recently purchased a BMW valued at about $80,000 and had on their property a mint condition 1966 Shelby Mustang, he said.

“This case will involve an extensive financial analysis and may include tax evasion both at the state and federal level,” Liberty said.

The search of the home, which capped a months-long investigation, led to the second major marijuana seizure in Maine this week.

On Tuesday, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department seized 32 pounds of processed marijuana and more than $11,000 cash from a home in Naples. Three people were arrested on drug charges in that incident, which stemmed from a tip about the whereabouts of someone involved in a domestic assault case.