The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency announced the arrest of four people suspected with trafficking heroin in Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties.

As part of an ongoing investigation, Travis Crowley, 31, and Carol Crowley, 25, both of Gardiner Road, Wiscasset, were arrested and charged with possession of scheduled drugs August 9.

Amandalee Ayala, 26, and Angel Luis Miranda, 35, both of Brooklyn, N.Y., were arrested August 10 and charged with aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs.

On August 9, the Mid Coast District Task Force along with the Wiscasset Police Department, Lincoln and Sagadahoc Sheriffs Offices executed a search warrant at the Crowley's Gardiner Road residence.

The search yielded a seizure of more than three grams of heroin, a cutting agent, methadone, suboxone and fentanyl patches, which were not allegedly prescribed to either Crowley.

The cutting agent, which is called inositol, is used to increase the volume of the heroin for distribution. In a release from the MDEA, it was stated that a gram of heroin that has been cut can produce 50 bags of heroin, which retail in the $30 range.

Through the investigation, agents were able to pinpoint the source of the heroin to two people from New York City.

At 4:40 a.m., August 10 the Wiscasset Police Department conducted a traffic stop at the behest of MDEA agents on Route 1 in Wiscasset.

Agents seized 21 grams of heroin from the two occupants of the vehicle, Miranda and Ayala, who were arrested and transported to Two Bridges Regional Jail.

Miranda and Ayala are each being held on $10,000 cash bails, with the MDEA citing extensive criminal histories, while both Crowleys were released on unsecured bonds from the Sagadahoc Sheriff's Office.

Additional charges are expected for the four in the future.

The investigation spanned approximately two months, Maine DEA Commander Scott Pelletier said.

“There has been an upswing in heroin throughout the region,” he said. “We've seen a trend in a number of communities (on the Midcoast).”

Most of the tips coming in are generated by local law enforcement making drug-related arrests and seizures, Pelletier said.

“We've seen more of a trend going towards heroin,” he said. “And it has to come from somewhere.”

Pelletier said that once the pill source has been depleted through police confiscated, law enforcement officials typically see an uptick in heroin and other drugs.

“For a while, we were seeing a lot of pills, and after a large quantity was confiscated, there was a definite uptick in heroin,” he said. “Some of these addicts will go from one to the other, because they have to feed their addiction.”

Ben Bulkeley can be reached at 207-633-4620 or bbulkeley@boothbayregister.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BBRegisterBen.