A former Lewiston resident pleaded guilty Monday to a federal charge of conspiring to distribute and possess cocaine base, commonly known as crack.

Lamar Young, 29, entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Portland, according to U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II.

Delahanty said in a news release that Young conspired to distribute more than 28 grams of cocaine base. Court records show that he purchased crack cocaine and cocaine powder from suppliers who were based in Massachusetts.

Young transported the drugs to Maine, where he turned the powder into crack. He packaged the drug and sold it out of a Lewiston apartment.

Young faces between five and 40 years in prison and at least four years of supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig M. Wolff, who prosecuted the case, said Young could also face a $5 million fine, the maximum allowed by federal statute.

Young will be sentenced after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

The criminal investigation was conducted by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Lewiston Police Department, and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.