Drug Agents Seize $200K in Cocaine, Arrest NY Man & Winslow Woman
A New York man and a woman from Winslow are facing charges after police allegedly found 4 pounds of cocaine in their vehicle.
The traffic stop happened in Gardiner on Tuesday afternoon. As part of an ongoing investigation into the trafficking of cocaine in Kennebec and Somerset Counties, police received a tip that Chelsy Cochran, 33 of Winslow, would be transporting drugs from New York. Drug investigators had been looking into John Cedeno, 25, of New York, who's also known as 'Papers.' Cedeno is familiar to police after Maine Drug Enforcement Agents charged him with aggravated drug trafficking in 2015, relating to the sale of heroin. In 2016, he was convicted of that charge and received a four-year prison sentence.
Get our free mobile appWhen drug agents located Cochran's Audi traveling northbound on the Maine Turnpike, they alerted Maine State Police who stopped the vehicle. A State Police K9 conducted a drug sniff of the vehicle and indicated the presence of illegal drugs. In the car's trunk, agents found approximately 4 pounds of cocaine, some of which was disguised as a cake. (2 kilograms) Also seized was approximately $1,900 in cash, believed to be proceeds from drug sales. The street value of the cocaine is about $200,000.
Both people were taken to the Kennebec County Jail and charged with aggravated trafficking in schedule W drugs. Cedeno's bail was set at $750,000 and Cochran's was set at $50,000.
Anyone with information about this investigation or the illegal sale of drugs in their community is urged to contact the Maine Drug Enforcement office closest to them, or text MDEA to TIP411 (8474111), or call the MDEA tip-line at 1-800-452-6457.
