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Madeleine Leclerc
The Victoria Star

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Two New Brunswick men and one U.S. citizen have been arrested following the seizure of approximately 2,000 methamphetamine pills by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the Fort Fairfield point of entry into Maine near Perth-Andover on Sept. 29.

Anthony Black, 37, of Perth-Andover and Wade Butler, 50, of Fort Fairfield were arrested immediately following the seizure of the meth and 82 Oxycodone pills which were allegedly hidden in the bumper of the New Brunswick man's pickup truck.

Black and Butler appeared the following day before a U.S. magistrate in Bangor District Court. Butler was released on $5,000 unsecured bail and is charged with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Black was charged with the importation of a controlled substance and was detained until a bail hearing scheduled to be held on Monday.

The pills were allegedly discovered when Black entered the U.S. at Fort Fairfield at approximately 4 p.m. on Sept. 29. The pills were discovered during a secondary inspection of Black's white Dodge Dakota pickup after a narcotics detection dog alerted officials to the vehicle's front bumper.

An affidavit from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement indicated that an inspection of three water bottles hidden behind the bumper were wrapped in black electrical tape, and contained coffee grinds and baby powder. They were also spraypainted black and hidden in back of a piece of cardboard that had also been spraypainted black.

Black allegedly told officials that he expected to receive $1,000 to deliver the pills to Butler in Fort Fairfield.

Arrangements were made by investigators so that the pills could be delivered to Butler later that evening. Approximately $14,000 in cash, hidden in a Crown Royal bottle was recovered. Butler allegedly told agents he planned to pay $14,000 for the meth pills. When Butler's home was searched, agents found another 1,000 meth pills in his basement.

An RCMP investigation into the source of the drugs in New Brunswick led to the subsequent arrest of a Plaster Rock man on Sept. 30.

"This was an organized crime group attempting to smuggle a significant amount of illegal drugs into the United States," said RCMP Sgt. Rick Bernard, a member of the Atlantic Region Integrated Border Enforcement Team.

"The strong partnership between law enforcement on both sides of the border helped us prevent that from happening and led to the arrests," he added.

District 10 RCMP, the Bathurst and Edmundston Regional Drug Unit, and RCMP Police Dog Services assisted the Atlantic Region Integrated Border Enforcement Team in the investigation, which is continuing. Other charges are pending against the three men. If convicted, Black and Butler could face up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. The cash seized from Butler could also be forfeited.