City man gets 20 years for trafficking heroin

Andre Hunter (Courtesy photo)

PORTLAND, Maine - A Rochester man was sentenced today to nearly 20 years in prison for his part in a large-scale heroin and cocaine smuggling operation that he ran between Rochester and Portland, Maine, last year.

Andre Hunter, 48, was sentenced in U.S. District Court by Judge Nancy Torresen to 235 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.

He pleaded guilty to the charges in December.

According to court records, from April 2014 until his arrest in October, Hunter distributed between 700 and 1,000 grams of heroin to dealers in Portland and Rochester who distributed it to customers in those areas.

On September 26 Hunter was stopped while driving from Rochester to Portland because the police suspected he was delivering drugs. A search of his vehicle led to the seizure of about 24 grams of heroin and 5 grams of cocaine.

A search of his Rochester residence resulted in the seizure of a digital scale with drug residue, drug packaging and $30,000.

This case was part of a investigation conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Maine State Police and the Strafford County Drug Task Force.