Maine man arrested after workers discovered $3 million worth of fentanyl he had shipped to a local restaurant, police say

• Police say a man imported 30 pounds of fentanyl and had it shipped to a Maine restaurant.

• Police charged Jeremy Mercier, 41, with facilitating drug importation, facilitating drug trafficking and violating a bail bond.

• Police say Mercier did not work at Mac’s Grill, where employees found the drugs in a shipping crate.

A man in Auburn, Maine, faces charges after police say he imported 30 pounds fentanyl worth millions of dollars to a local restaurant.

Jeremy Mercier, 41, was charged with aggravated narcotics importation, aggravated drug trafficking and bail violations. He is being held without bail at the Androscoggin County Jail, police said.

On Friday, employees at Mac’s Grill in Auburn opened a large wooden box that had arrived from Arizona, believing it contained a shipment of mugs they had ordered, the Auburn Police Department said in a press release. Inside they found a tote bag with a “significant amount of illegal drugs‘, with Mercier’s name listed as a contact, police said.

Mac’s Grill did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment on Sunday.

The police confiscated the drugs from the restaurant and took them to the police station, where they tested the material and confirmed it was drugs fentanylit says in the press release.

About an hour later, police arrested Mercier when he arrived at the restaurant and asked about the package.

The police confiscated 14 kilos fentanyl total, which they said has a street value of more than $3 million.

Mercier was convicted of federal cocaine distribution in 2007 and was free on another charge unrelated to bail, police said.

Auburn Deputy Police Chief Tim Cougle said the department is still investigating the case and expects “federal partners” to join the investigation.

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