Local man pleads guilty in federal court in fentanyl trafficking case

Christopher Blier (Sanford Police photo)

COPYRIGHT2017© PORTLAND, Maine - Almost a year to the day after he was arrested, a Lebanon man is awaiting sentencing in federal court in a fentanyl trafficking case that was called one of the biggest busts ever by Sanford Police.

Christopher S. Blier, 32, whose address was given as 701 Upper Guinea Road but grew up in Milton, was arrested around 8:15 p.m. on July 22, 2016, near Robertson's Power and Sports after police received a dispatch call that he was seen on Lebanon Street in Sanford "all over the road."

While police were conducting the traffic stop, presumably to determine if Blier was under the influence, officers spotted drugs in the car and ordered him to get out.

When he attempted to flee, police pulled him out of the vehicle and arrested him, according to a police press release.

Stash of drugs, money found inside Christopher Blier's car during arrest last July.

Maine Drug Enforcement Agent Pete Madore called the bust "a substantial seizure for this area." He estimated the street value of 128 gross grams of heroin seized from Blier's car at around $20,000. Officers also found more than $10,000 cash in Blier's possession.

Blier has been free on $10,000 bond since his case was taken over by the feds last November.

A bizarre twist to Blier's arrest that Friday night was it wasn't his first contact with lawmen that day.

Earlier around 3:45 p.m. Blier crashed his BMW in the area of 822 Center Road in Lebanon, telling Maine State Police he had swerved to avoid a dog.

Maine State Police Trooper Rick Spicer said despite Blier's alleged stash of drugs and money found by Sanford Police later that night, when he talked with Blier there was no reason to believe he was under the influence of anything and there was no contraband in his car.

"There was no impairment and he had the trunk and everything open and clear," Spicer said, adding he couldn't speculate on whether Blier could have hidden stuff prior to his arrival.

Once the BMW was towed, Blier walked to a relative's home that was nearby, Spicer said.

A child in the car with Blier at the time of the crash was evaluated by town EMS personnel, but no transport was necessary, according to Lebanon Fire and EMS.

Sanford Police initially charged Blier with aggravated trafficking, refusing to submit to arrest, obstructing government administration, suspended registration and sale/use of drug paraphernalia, but the feds ultimately pared it down to a single fentanyl trafficking charge that could land him in federal prison for eight to 17½ years.

Blier was called a good student earlier this year by a Nute High staffer who asked that her name not be used.

"You'd never imagine in a million years he'd be caught up in drugs," she said at the time, adding that after high school he landed a job at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

The U.S. Federal Court in Portland took over the fentanyl trafficking case on Nov. 8 and moved to indict, but Blier waived indictment and entered a guilty on July 7.

A presentencing report is now in the works. Blier will likely be sentenced in a couple of months, officials say.