SACO, Maine — What began as a Saco Police Department response to a domestic violence-related incident led authorities to two alleged clandestine drug laboratories and the seizure of kilograms of psychedelic mushrooms, cocaine, ketamine, MDMA, DMT and nearly 1,500 doses of LSD, according to the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA).
Christopher Blanchette, 52, of Saco, was arrested and charged with two counts of Trafficking in Scheduled W Drugs and two counts of Trafficking in Scheduled X Drugs following the discovery at a Cumberland Avenue residence.
Blanchette was being held at the York County Jail on $250,000 cash bail, according to MDEA.
The investigation began Monday, Aug. 17, when agents assigned to MDEA’s York District Task Force received a call from Saco Police.
Officers had responded to a domestic violence-related incident and, during their investigation, discovered what they believed to be a clandestine drug laboratory inside the residence, according to MDEA.
Police secured and evacuated the home before MDEA agents arrived.
Agents subsequently confirmed that an active laboratory was inside the residence. Because investigators initially did not know what type of laboratory they were dealing with or what chemicals could be present, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s clandestine laboratory team was called in to assist.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for the residence at 49 Cumberland Ave.
According to MDEA, authorities discovered not one but two alleged drug-production operations inside: a psilocybin mushroom laboratory and a DMT, or dimethyltryptamine, laboratory.
Members of the specialized teams ultimately dismantled both labs, which MDEA described as “dangerous and hazardous.”
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection also responded and assisted with removing and disposing of hazardous chemicals and contaminated materials from the property.
The scale and variety of drugs allegedly recovered went well beyond the two laboratories.
According to MDEA, agents seized:
- 4.25 kilograms of psilocybin mushrooms;
- 12 grams of DMT;
- 15 grams of cocaine hydrochloride;
- 34.5 grams of ketamine;
- 40 grams of MDMA; and
- 1,478 doses of LSD.
The seizure represents an unusually broad assortment of controlled substances allegedly found at a single Saco residence, ranging from psychedelics to cocaine and ketamine.
Following the search, Blanchette was charged with two counts each of trafficking in Scheduled W and Scheduled X drugs.
MDEA said Blanchette also faces charges stemming from the original Saco Police call to the residence, although the agency’s release did not identify those additional charges.
“This potentially dangerous incident was rendered safe as the result of cooperation between the Saco Police Department, MDEA, and USDEA,” MDEA said.
The agency also credited Maine DEP with playing “an integral part” in safely removing hazardous chemicals and contaminated materials from the residence.
MDEA said the investigation is part of its continuing effort with federal, state, county and local authorities to disrupt illegal drug trafficking in Maine.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about the investigation or illegal drug sales in their community to contact MDEA.
Blanchette is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
