The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency arrested two Lawrence, Mass., women Thursday night for trafficking and attempting to distribute a massive amount of fentanyl, the potent synthetic opioid that public health and law enforcement officials believe is fueling Maine’s opioid addiction and overdose crisis.
Krismely Guzman, 24, and Eri Geilys Polanco Caceres, 22, both of Lawrence, are being held on $100,000 cash bail following a traffic stop that led to their arrests.
The stop was the product of a year-long investigation into an organized criminal organization which the MDEA believes is headquartered in Massachusetts, the Maine State Police said.
Bangor Police assisted with the arrests.
During the traffic stop, law enforcement officers found Guzman and Caceres had in their possession 1.4 pounds of fentanyl, an estimated street value of $94,000 worth. Depending on the additives mixed with the substance, that amounts to more than 100,000 potentially lethal doses of the drug.
Last year, a record 716 Mainers died from opioid overdoses.