Orono Maine Man Arrested On Drug Charges By Bangor Police

An Orono man is facing drug charges after a traffic stop in Bangor.

Orono Man Was a Passenger in a Car Stopped by Bangor Police When Arrested

Thomas Pope, 48, of Orono, is charged with aggravated trafficking of Scheduled drugs and violation of his conditions of release.

READ MORE: Maine Parents Should Know More About These Illegal Drugs

Bangor Police arrested Pope at approximately 9:30 Monday night after they pulled over a car at the intersection of Hammond and Union Streets for a traffic violation. Pope was a passenger in that vehicle.

A Bangor Police K9 Alerted the Presence of Illegal Drugs in the Vehicle

Officer Nick Canarr determined that Pope was on bail conditions, which prohibited him from using or possessing alcohol, marijuana, or illegal drugs. He called for Officer Lucas Libby and K9 Jesi to search the vehicle and Jesi indicated the presence of drugs.

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Pope was arrested and taken to the Penobscot County Jail. During that drive, Officer Canarr says he noticed Pope squirming around the rear seat of the cruiser during the ride to the jail and again once the back door was opened.

Orono Man is Accused of Possessing a Bag With Fentanyl, Heroin and Other Drugs

The officer checked the backseat of the cruiser and found a plastic bag, with multiple smaller plastic bags inside it, on the seat next to Pope. The suspect told Officer Canarr that the bag was not his.

An inspection of the bags' contents resulted in the tentative identification of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine.

Mr. Pope was booked into the jail and officers reviewed the video from the passenger compartment of the police cruiser. Bangor Police say the video shows Pope removing the bag from the back of his pants and tossing it to where it was discovered by Canarr.

We'll update this story as more details become available