September 8, 2012

Bag containing drugs, money left on Amtrak Downeaster leads to arrest of Mass. man

By David Hench dhench@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

Steven Nordstrom was more than a little frantic after he hustled off the Amtrak Downeaster in Saco at 1:20 a.m. and realized he forgot his backpack.

Inside was $11,700. Also inside was $2,000 worth of heroin and cocaine, police said.

So when Nordstrom showed up at the Portland Transportation Center on Sewall Street to pick up his lost luggage, plainclothes officers were more than happy to give it to him -- then arrest him on drug trafficking charges.

Amtrak workers discovered the bag, a small gym pouch with a drawstring, as they were checking the cars at the end of the line in Portland. Inside, they found papers identifying the owner, and what appeared to be contraband.

Police say there was 11 grams of heroin and six grams of cocaine -- drugs that were picked up in Massachusetts and bound for Maine.

"They left the bag apparently because the male had fallen asleep on the ride back (to Maine) and when they were at their stop, they scurried off in Saco and left the bag behind," said Sgt. Kevin Cashman, supervisory agent with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Soon after, Nordstrom's girlfriend called looking for the bag.

Amtrak police called Portland police who along with MDEA agents arranged for the pickup.

The couple took a cab from Saco and got there at 4:30 a.m. Nordstrom showed identification and confirmed the bag was his and took it. Police arrested him.

Officers questioned him and he admitted the contents of the bag were his, Cashman said. Nordstrom is charged with aggravated trafficking heroin and possession of cocaine.

Nordstrom lives in Massachusetts but it's unclear what town, Cashman said.

Police will seek to have the cash forfeited to help fund future drug operations.

Nordstrom is being held at Cumberland County Jail on $5,060 bail.

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