A New York man was sentenced Wednesday to 44 months in prison for attempting to traffic crack cocaine in the Twin Cities.

Cuwan Merritt, 30, of Brooklyn, had been convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base following a two-day jury trial in July 2018.

According to court records, on May 12, 2017,  Merritt and another man, Michael Artis, travelled from Boston intending to sell crack in Lewiston. Police intercepted the vehicle in which they were traveling when they reached Auburn, according to court records, and a police dog indicated the presence of narcotics on both men.

Agents seized 57 pre-packaged .5g bags of crack from Artis and later seized crack that Merritt had secreted in his body, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland.

Artis pled guilty to the same charge on June 28, 2018 and awaits sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration in conjunction with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Auburn and Lewiston Police Departments and the Maine State Police.