FARMINGTON — Two Farmington men have been arrested on drug trafficking charges after a joint investigation by local authorities that spanned months.

Farmington police said Mark Barrett, 59, and Guy Stevens, 42, were each charged with aggravated trafficking of unlawful drugs and illegal importation of drugs early Thursday after they were stopped by Officer Erin Gilbert while driving to Farmington with heroin in the vehicle.

A search of Barrett’s 2006 Honda Accord yielded more than 1.3 ounces of heroin, which has a street value of $6,000 to $8,000, said Police Chief Jack Peck. Barrett was armed with a loaded handgun at the time of the arrests, which elevated both trafficking charges to Class A felonies, police said.

The investigation team – which included Farmington and Wilton police, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and Maine State Police – had received a tip that the men would be driving back to Farmington with drugs and got search warrants to look through the men’s homes and vehicles.

After the vehicle stop and arrests, officers from the four agencies executed search warrants on the men’s residences, both of which are on Lucy Knowles Road.

The search of Barrett’s residence turned up “hundreds of small zip-lock plastic baggies typically used for packaging and resale of illegal drugs,” Peck said.

Also found in the home were three shotguns, five rifles, 12 handguns and boxes of ammunition.

All of the items, including Barrett’s car, were seized as evidence.

Peck said investigators are working to determine the source of the heroin being transported by the suspects.

Lauren Abbate can be contacted at 861-9252 or at:

labbate@centralmaine.com

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