LEWISTON — A Lewiston man was charged Thursday in federal court with trafficking cocaine and having 10 guns illegally.
Nasir Kenya-Malik White, 24, was arrested at his Bartlett Street home Wednesday night by federal agents assisted by local police.
He was charged in U.S. District Court with distribution and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
White also was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
He was arrested after agents executed a warrant and searched the apartment where he lived.
Investigators recovered more than 300 grams of suspected cocaine during the search.
Ten guns were recovered, including “a shotgun, two Glock pistols, two revolvers, a third pistol, a .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle, a Smith and Wesson AR-15-style assault rifle, a Mini Draco AK-47-style assault rifle and a Palmetto PA-15, AR-style semiautomatic pistol,” according to an affidavit written by FBI Special Agent Adam Morin.
Agents also recovered high-capacity magazines and hundreds of rounds of various calibers of ammunition, Morin wrote.
An investigation from July through October had focused on White’s alleged involvement in drug trafficking. Confidential sources made at least five controlled buys of illegal drugs, including cocaine and suspected fentanyl and methamphetamine, from White during that period, Morin wrote.
White was prohibited from having firearms as a result of a 2023 conviction in Androscoggin County Superior Court in Auburn for reckless conduct with a firearm or dangerous weapon.
White was scheduled to make his first appearance in federal court in Portland on Friday.
Prosecutors filed a motion Thursday seeking to have White detained while awaiting trial.
He was jailed at Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn on Wednesday night before he was taken to Cumberland County Jail in Portland on Thursday to be held in federal custody.
The FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force is investigating the case with assistance from the Lewiston Police Department and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.
