Four arrested after nearly 4 pounds of fentanyl seized in multi-county drug bust

By Leela Stockley, Bangor Daily News Staff

Four people were arrested in Ellsworth last Thursday after nearly 4 pounds of fentanyl was recovered in a drug bust spanning Hancock and Somerset counties. 

Mark Jordan, 31, of Milbridge and Peggy Lou Strout, 66, of Gouldsborough, along with 22-year old Dalvin Jose Peguero and 25-year-old Yonaury Arias-De Jesus, both of the Dominican Republic and Lawrence, Massachusetts have been accused of distributing schedule W drugs throughout the state, according to Shannon Moss, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety. 

Jordan, Strout, Peguero and Arias-De Jesus were arrested after a traffic stop along Route 1A in Ellsworth at approximately 3:30 p.m., Moss said. During the traffic stop, officers seized 220 grams — nearly 8 ounces — of fentanyl. 

A search warrant executed at a Cambridge residence turned up more than 1,500 grams, or more than 3 pounds, of fentanyl as well as $13,000 in suspected drug proceeds, according to Moss. The warrant was the result of an investigation by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency into the distribution of fentanyl throughout Somerset, Penobscot, Hancock and Washington counties.

Jordan, Strout, Peguero and Arias-De Jesus have all been charged with Class A aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs. The charges are aggravated due to the amount of drugs recovered during the search, according to Moss. 

Jordan and Strout are being held at the Hancock County Jail. Peguero and Arias-De Jesus are being held at the Somerset County Jail.