September 21, 2024
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3 arrested in Eastbrook heroin bust

EASTBROOK – Two local men and an Orono woman are behind bars after law enforcement officials found them and $28,000 worth of heroin at a local home.

Maine Drug Enforcement agents found 800 bags of heroin when they executed a search warrant late Wednesday evening at the home of Forrest “Randy” MacMillan, according to an MDEA press release. At the home with MacMillan, who is 50 years old, were George Taylor, 48, of Eastbrook, and Jeannie Thurlow, 44, of Orono. Each has been charged with aggravated trafficking in heroin because of the amount of drugs found, the release indicated.

Drug enforcement agents also executed a search warrant Wednesday night at Taylor’s home but did not find any illegal drugs there. Besides the drugs, police found and seized $1,500 cash in alleged drug proceeds at MacMillan’s home.

As of late Thursday afternoon, all three still were in custody at Hancock County Jail in Ellsworth. Bail for each has been set at $5,000 cash or $10,000 surety. If convicted, each face from four to 40 years behind bars, according to the MDEA.

The arrests are the result of a three-month investigation by MDEA’s Downeast Regional Task Force, which is staffed by officers from Hancock County police departments and funded through the Hancock County budget. In all, nine MDEA agents from around the state participated in the bust and were assisted by officers with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department and Maine State Police.

“A seizure of this size is a clear indication that even after the increase in enforcement, prevention and treatment in Hancock County over the past few years, there remains a strong demand for opiates,” Darrell Crandall, MDEA division commander, wrote in the release.

“Our work here is far from done.”

Correction: A story in Friday’s paper about a drug bust in Eastbrook contained inaccurate information about the makeup of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency’s Downeast Regional Task Force. The task force is composed of officers from law enforcement agencies in Hancock and Washington counties and is funded only partially through the Hancock County budget.

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