A yearlong criminal investigation by MDEA agents from task force groups based in Bangor and Houlton has led to the arrest of a group of individuals suspected of selling large quantities of oxycodone in Maine.
On Wednesday afternoon, Andrew Morrison, 23, of Portland arrived at the McDonalds on Union Street in Bangor, planning to meet with an oxycodone supplier he had befriended on a social media site. This “supplier” was actually an undercover MDEA agent. When Morrison parked his car, MDEA agents and Bangor police took him into custody without incident. Morrison was in possession of fifty-plus oxycodone tablets and over $29,000 in cash. Morrison had arranged to buy 2,000 oxycodone tablets from the undercover agent.
Based on surveillance of Morrison earlier in the day and on other investigative information, MDEA agents then went to the Bangor Motor Inn on the Hogan Road and arrested 52-year-old Angel Nibby, of Caribou. Nibby was found in possession of another $2,560 in cash.
MDEA agents then obtained a search warrant for the home of Angel Nibby and David Sullivan, 51, on the Grimes Mill Road in Caribou. When agents arrived, Sullivan tried to discard drug evidence by throwing it out a window. Among other evidence, agents seized 573 oxycodone tablets, two methamphetamine tablets, $10,000 in cash and a loaded .25 caliber pistol. MDEA agents were assisted in the search by officers from the Caribou Police Department and a K-9 unit from the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office.
Morrison and Nibby were taken to the Penobscot County Jail where they were charged with attempted aggravated trafficking in oxycodone, a Class B felony. The offense is aggravated based upon the quantity of drugs. Morrison, who was already on bail for a drug trafficking arrest, was also charged with violation of conditions of release. Morrison had been arrested by MDEA agents in January of 2011 and charged with trafficking in oxycodone. In February of 2013, Morrison pled guilty and was scheduled to be sentenced in August. If convicted, both suspects face up to 10 years in prison. Sullivan was charged with possession of methamphetamine, a Class C felony, and taken to the Caribou Police Department.
Crimes involving the distribution of prescription narcotics continue to represent a large percentage of MDEA’s total statewide arrest numbers. The highly addictive painkillers are often smuggled into Maine from states where rogue pain clinics operate.
Information on drug crimes may be reported to MDEA at 1-800-452-6457, MSEA’s website: www.maine.gov/dps/mdea or at MDEA’s MyPD smartphone application for iPhone and Android.
