Man arrested for smuggling drugs carried internally

A 39-year-old resident of Lubec and Campobello who attempted to import into the U.S. Oxycontin pills has waived his right to a preliminary hearing. A condom filled with 104 80-milligram Oxycontin pills and five 40-mg Oxycontin pills was retrieved from James Mills on the morning of Saturday, September 12, at the Calais Regional Hospital. He had been apprehended in Lubec the night before when he attempted to gain entry to the U.S. from Campobello.

Brock Lanpher, special agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reports in his affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Bangor that as of September 11 he had information from three special agents indicating that Mills had, for an extended period of time, been involved in smuggling oxycodone pills into the U.S. from Campobello Island through the U.S. port of entry in Lubec and selling them in the U.S. One of the special agents told Lanpher that Mills' mode of smuggling was to conceal the pills in his alimentary canal and that his source for the pills was in St. Andrews. Another source told U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Officer Matthew Ashby that Mills would be leaving Campobello on Thursday, September 10, and traveling north to pick up pills, staying in the Saint John area on his way back. The source indicated to Ashby that Mills would be returning to Campobello on Friday, September 11, and would later the same day smuggle the pills into the U.S.

Consequently, Lanpher was waiting when Mills tried to enter the U.S. at 6:45 p.m. on September 11 through the Lubec port of entry, and during a secondary inspection Mills acted nervous, especially when asked about smuggling pills into the U.S. Mills insisted that he had been on Campobello Island all day, but the receipts from hotel stays in the Saint John area were found in his vehicle. Mills changed his story and admitted he had been in Saint John.

After Mills denied that he was carrying pills inside his person, CBP Officers Loring Munson and Ashby conducted a pat down and then a partial body search with negative results. When he was asked if he would consent to an X-ray, Mills refused.

Lanpher reports that the CBP then transported Mills to the Calais Regional Hospital "to conduct a monitored bowel movement. He was handcuffed to a bed and told he would remain there until he had to go to the bathroom. Meanwhile, I made efforts to acquire a search warrant and court order application to conduct an X-ray and body cavity search."

After Mills consented to an X-ray, at about 8:30 a.m. it was discovered that a foreign object was in his alimentary canal and, half an hour later, he passed the condom. It was taken to the Calais Police Station to be opened and where Lanpher says "based upon my training and experience, I know the pills have the same markings and appearances as Oxycontin pills of Canadian manufacture."

If convicted of the Class C felony charge of importation of controlled substances, Mills faces a possible prison term of up to 20 years and a fine up to $1 million or both.