OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Police say a traffic stop made in a quest to apprehend two people wanted on outstanding warrants has resulted in the seizure of a variety of drugs — including half a kilo of fentanyl — and further charges for the pair.
Officers received a tip that a Hollis resident and an Old Orchard Beach resident were traveling through town in a vehicle around 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13, according to Old Orchard Beach Police. It was known that both were wanted on outstanding arrest warrants, police said in a news release issued Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Ted Libby Old Orchard Beach Police Department Photo
Old Orchard Beach Police, assisted by Saco Police and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency officers, conducted a traffic stop on North Street in Saco. The occupants of the vehicle, Hollis resident Ted Libby, 35, and Old Orchard Beach resident Andrea Hoyt, 26, ran from the traffic stop but were taken into custody after a brief foot chase, police said.
Libby was allegedly found to be in possession of half a kilo, which is just over a pound, of fentanyl; about 45 grams of methamphetamine, 16 grams of cocaine, an assortment of prescription drugs and $11,588 in suspected drug proceeds, police said in the news release.
He was arrested and charged with aggravated trafficking and trafficking in scheduled drugs, refusal to submit to arrest, two counts of violation of bail conditions and on the warrants, and was initially held without bail at York County Jail in Alfred. A jail corrections officer on Wednesday Feb. 15 said his bail was later set at $50,300 cash.
Andrea Hoyt Old Orchard Beach Police Department Photo
Hoyt was arrested and charged with refusing to submit to arrest, violation of conditions of release, unlawful possession of scheduled drugs and on the warrants. Police said she was later released on $500 bail.
People charged with crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
A half kilo is estimated to be about 500 grams.
MDEA Commander Scott Pelletier said the cost of fentanyl varies, depending on how and where it is sold. In southern Maine fentanyl can be purchased for about $100 to $120 a gram, but the price tends to be more in northern areas of Maine, he said. A 10-gram “stick” has been known to sell for about $300, Pelletier added.
According to Maine’s drug overdose report, there were 716 fatal drug overdoses in 2022, with about 80 percent of them attributed to non-pharmaceutical fentanyl, either on its own or in combination with other drugs.
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