OLD ORCHARD BEACH, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Police have charged 46 people with a variety of crimes after conducting a four month long investigation into illegal drug trafficking in this sea side community.
Police Chief Dana Kelley says officers seized sizable quantities of crack cocaine, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and prescription drugs with a street value of more than $150,000.
"The fact of the matter is that, this isn't anything new," stated Kelley. "This isn't anything that doesn't happen every where else in the country and the world. It is just that we have decided to take a little bit of a more aggressive stand and approach to our particular community."
Chief Kelley says he met with Old Orchard Beach Town Manager Mark Pearson and they came up with a plan to adjust officers schedules that would allow detectives to focus more of their time pursuing leads related to the flow of drugs coming into the community.
"No one had the time to actively pursue all these leads we had, and that type of investigation takes surveillance, somebody interviewing everyone, talking to as many people as possible, and without being able to be freed up from having to do patrol, you really can't do an effective job," explained Kelley.
He says they have at least another 20 active investigations that they are working on, so their efforts will continue.
NEWS CENTER