Cocaine disguised as cake seized in Gardiner

A man from New York City and a woman from Winslow, Maine have been arrested in Gardiner following the discovery of a significant amount of cocaine in their vehicle along I-295. Agents believe the drugs were being transported into the state for redistribution throughout Kennebec and Somerset Counties.

Acting on information received from anonymous sources, agents assigned to MDEA’s South Central Task Force in Augusta, opened an investigation into a New York City man believed to be responsible for the distribution of considerable amounts of cocaine within the Central Maine area. JOHN CEDENO (25), aka: “Papers”, of New York, NY was familiar to MDEA agents as they had charged him in 2015 with aggravated drug trafficking relating to the sale of heroin. At the time of his 2015 arrest, Cedeno was found to be in possession of 38 grams of heroin, a handgun and several thousand dollars. In 2016 he was convicted on this charge and received a four-year prison sentence.

Information received this week led agents to believe that Cedeno and CHELSY COCHRAN (33) of Winslow would be traveling to the State of Maine in an Audi, owned and operated by Cochran. Tuesday afternoon, July 20, 2021, agents located the car, driven by Cochran, traveling northbound on the Maine Turnpike with Cedeno as her passenger. This car was later stopped, with the assistance of the Maine State Police, along I-295 as it entered Gardiner. A Maine State Police K9 conducted a drug sniff of the car following the stop and indicated the presence of illegal drugs. In the car’s trunk, agents located approximately four pounds (2 kilograms) of cocaine. Also seized was approximately $1900 in cash, believed to be the proceeds of illegal drug sales. The street value of the cocaine seized is $200,000.

Cedeno and Cochran were transported to the Kennebec County Jail and charged with Aggravated Trafficking in Schedule W Drug, a Class “A” offense. Bail was set by a bail commissioner Tuesday night at $750,000 on Cedeno and $50,000 on Cochran. Both will likely have an initial appearance Wednesday in Kennebec County Court.

The MDEA received significant assistance in this investigation from the Winslow Police Department, the Maine State Police and Homeland Security Investigations. This investigation is on-going and more arrests are possible.