Source: United States Department of Justice News
PORTLAND, Maine: An Auburn man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Portland today to manufacturing more than 50 marijuana plants and possessing more than 50 kilograms of marijuana with intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee announced.
According to court records, on February 27, 2018, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the Auburn residence of Brian Bilodeau, 38. During the search, agents seized about 180 pounds of marijuana, four firearms, a money-counting machine, a 2016 Lamborghini Huracan, and a 2014 Nissan GT-R.
Agents also searched a warehouse in Auburn used to cultivate marijuana. At this location, agents seized approximately 321 marijuana plants and 181 pounds of marijuana. This marijuana was cultivated by Bilodeau and others.
In rejecting Bilodeau’s earlier argument that he was cultivating marijuana in compliance with Maine’s Medical Marijuana Program (MMMP), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit stated that Bilodeau and others “were knowingly engaged in a large-scale … black-market marijuana operation aimed at supplying marijuana to persons known not to be qualifying patients.” Similarly, the district court noted that “[t]he drug ledgers seized from Bilodeau’s residence indicate a sales operation that extended far beyond patient supply consistent with the MMMP.”
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations investigated the case with assistance from numerous federal, state and local law enforcement partners.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks
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