Maine Man Pleads Guilty to Participating in Fentanyl Trafficking Conspiracy

            CONCORD - Norman Torrey, 53, of Lewiston, Maine pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, as part of an ongoing drug trafficking investigation, agents and task force officers with the Drug Enforcement Administration learned that on March 27, 2018, the defendant intended to travel to Massachusetts to purchase 100 grams of fentanyl.  Agents conducted surveillance in the area of the transaction and observed the defendant’s vehicle arrive and depart.  They followed the defendant as he drove through New Hampshire and into Maine, where they shared their observations with a Maine State Police Trooper. The trooper stopped the vehicle and ultimately seized approximately 98 grams of fentanyl. The investigation demonstrated that the defendant purchased and distributed over 400 grams of fentanyl.

            Torrey is scheduled to be sentenced on January 15, 2018.

            “Fentanyl has been the source of far too many deaths in New England,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “This case demonstrates multi-state drug distribution activities that complicate law enforcement efforts. In order to protect the public by stopping these criminal enterprises, we will coordinate with all of our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute those who are distributing this deadly substance.”

               This case was a collaborative investigation that involved the DEA; the Maine State Police; the New Hampshire State Police; the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office; the Nashua Police Department; the Massachusetts State Police; the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office; the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office; the Essex County District Attorney’s Office; the Internal Revenue Service; Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations; United States Customs and Border Protection Boston Field Office; the United States Marshals Service; the Manchester Police Department; the Lisbon Police Department; the Littleton Police Department; the Seabrook Police Department; the Haverhill (MA) Police Department; the Methuen (MA) Police Department; and the Lowell (MA) Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Georgiana L. Konesky, Seth R. Aframe, and Debra Walsh.

            This case was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.  

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