Feds want to seize properties owned by Franklin County marijuana businessman after raid

This story will be updated.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Maine has filed notices in federal court to seize 12 properties related to the raid on a well-known marijuana distributor in the Farmington area last week, saying they facilitated drug trafficking.

The complaints, dated July 23, came two days after federal and state law enforcement officials raided Narrow Gauge Distributors, a marijuana company in Farmington owned by Lucas Sirois of Rangeley.

The civil forfeiture actions list properties possibly owned by Sirois or his wife, Alisa Sirois, his father, Robert Sirois, Spruce Valley LLC and Front Street Investments. Six of the properties are in Farmington, two in Rangeley, two in Industry, one in Avon and one in Carrabassett Valley.

The properties include 374 High St. in Farmington, which officials raided. It is the site of Narrow Gauge Distributors, which is “the largest cannabis distribution company in Maine” and “known as a pioneer in the field of cannabis, CBD, cultivation, and research and development,” according to its website.

The complaints allege that the property and or its proceeds can be forfeited because it “facilitated drug trafficking in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.” That act allows any real or personal property involved in a money laundering transaction to be forfeited, the complaint said.

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Portland and Sirois’ lawyer, Toby Dilworth, would not comment on an ongoing investigation. So far, no charges or arrests have been made, and the exact nature of the raid, which involved the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Agency, has not been disclosed. FBI spokesperson Kirsten Setera said there is no update on the situation.

The warrants still have not been made public. However, multiple warrants by both agencies likely were involved, according to Bruce Merrill, a former federal prosecutor and lawyer in Portland who is not directly involved in the case. He said this is the first in a long series of steps the government must take to seize the properties.