LEWISTON (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- Like an illicit game of Jenga, drug agents methodically stacked marijuana-filled storage bins into towers of evidence outside a warehouse in Lewiston.
At least 19 bins were visible to onlookers along Lisbon Street. Scattered cannabis leaves on the ground and a strong smell of marijuana also pointed to drug activity in the area.
Investigators said the raid on Tuesday was the most visible front in a multi-pronged drug raid in the Lewiston-Auburn area.
A man from Lewiston was arrested in connection with the raids, a chief federal prosecutor announced later that afternoon. Richard "Stitch" Daniels, 52, was charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and manufacturing butane hash oil.
The criminal complaint filed in US District Court accuses Daniels of being involved in what it refers to as a "drug trafficking organization" operating "under the cover of, but in violation of, Maine's Medical Marijuana program," distributing to people who were not participants, including people from out-of-state.
The US attorney's office says 20 search warrants were executed in the Lewiston-Auburn area on Tuesday, and agents seized 50 kilograms (more than 110 pounds) of marijuana, six mason jars partially filled with butane hash oil and a kilogram of shatter at Daniels' properties.
The bust at 1830 Lisbon St. was in an area that actually houses three different businesses: an auto sales space, an auto repair area and an auto body shop.
One man who pulled up outside the door of the repair shop told NEWS CENTER Maine he was shocked when he showed up. He said he had an appointment to have his car fixed but when he walked inside, there was nobody there.
Inside, not a soul in sight: a broken door, the pungent smell of marijuana and bagged lunches, uneaten.
In addition to the Lisbon Street bust, agents seized reportedly large hauls of marijuana at 17 Bridge St. in Lewiston and 555 Lincoln St., where employees hastily cleaned up the green leaves of marijuana left behind from the bust. As one picked up debris, he said, "I was shocked when I got here to work."
Word of the busts got out quickly around town.
"I heard from a buddy that a bunch of places that were doing the growing thing that they got busted," one person said.
According to the prosecutor, 10 different law enforcement agencies are involved in the investigation: the federal DEA; IRS' Criminal Investigations unit; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the FBI; Maine State Police; and the police departments of Lewiston, Auburn, Windham, Biddeford and Scarborough.
If convicted, Daniels faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
He was expected to make his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon in Portland.