The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency says five members of the same family have been arrested for allegedly importing and selling fentanyl in Knox and Lincoln counties.
Steven Libby, 49, of Warren, faces a class A charge of aggravated trafficking fentanyl. His bail was set at $2,500 cash. The charge is aggravated due to a prior drug conviction.
Michelle Libby, 47, of Warren, faces the same charge. Her bail was set at $1,500 cash.The charge is aggravated due to firearm possession during a transaction.
Amanda Thurston, 29, of Friendship, faces a charge of trafficking fentanyl, and Joseph “Joey” Thurston, 30, of Friendship, faces a class C charge of conspiracy to traffic fentanyl. Their bail was set at $1,500 unsecured.
Ryan Carballo, 34, a transient, faces a charge of class B trafficking fentanyl and a charge of violation of condition of release, as he was on bail for a pending fentanyl trafficking charge.
Over the past two months, agents from the MDEA Mid-Coast District Task Force, with assistance from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Maine State Police, and Rockland Police Department, have been investigating a family selling the drug in Knox County.
During the investigation, agents learned that family members were traveling to New Bedford, Mass. several times a week to purchase fentanyl that they would resell in Knox and Lincoln counties.
On Friday, March 2, MDEA searched the family’s two homes in Friendship and Warren. The house on Harbor Road in Friendship is occupied by the Thurstons, and the Libby residence is on Depot Street in Warren. Seized were 20 grams of fentanyl, a handgun, $1,800 of suspected drug proceeds, and other evidence of drug trafficking.
The five were arrested without incident and transported to the Knox County Jail. The Libbys are the parents of Amanda Thurston, and Ryan Carballo is the Libbys’ son-in-law.
Several more arrests are expected in the upcoming weeks and additional charges will likely be brought against the five arrested.
