Special Delivery: Maine Man Arrested After Package Containing $3 Million in Fentanyl Mailed to Restaurant, Cops Say

Employees of a restaurant in Maine expecting a shipment of new mugs instead received a delivery containing around $3 million of the deadly drug fentanyl, officials said.

The workers at Mac’s Grill in Auburn opened a wooden crate and found inside a plastic tote with 31 pounds of fentanyl pressed into bricks, the Auburn Police Department said, WMTW reported.

According to police, the package was addressed to a “Jeremy Mercier” at the restaurant’s address, but the name didn’t correspond with any employees.

About an hour after staff alerted authorities, officers arrested Mercier, 41, when he showed up and asked about the illicit package.

Police found $2,780 in cash on Mercier they believe was from drug dealing, officials said.

Mercier faces multiple charges, including aggravated illegal importation of scheduled drugs, aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs, and violation of conditional release.

He was booked into the Androscoggin County jail without bail.

Mike Peters, the owner of Mac’s Grill, told WMTW he was glad the fentanyl didn’t make its way to the street.

“The instances of overdose in our, and surrounding, communities is awful, and fentanyl seems to be front and center when it comes to fatalities,” Peters said in a statement. “It is very sad.”

Despite the seriousness of the incident, he joked: “If there are folks out there considering having their drugs shipped here, we would kindly ask that they choose somewhere else.”