Five federal agents in camouflage reportedly took a man into custody about 6:30 a.m. Thursday morning near the corner of Main and Norton streets.
The agents took a man who appeared to be Latino, 30 to 40 years old, into custody and guided him into one of the vehicles, according to a resident who was walking by with his dog. The man did not speak out and appeared to be alone, said the resident, who spoke with the Reporter but asked to remain anonymous.
The Police Department did not know about the incident until alerted by the South Berwick Reporter, according to Deputy Chief Scott Stephens.
“There is nothing in our log about this, and I drove through the downtown area around 6:30 a.m. and I saw nothing,” said Stephens, who happened to be passing by there about an hour before he received an email from the Reporter about the incident. No one else has verified the report.
The Reporter contacted state Sen. Mark Lawrence, Rep. Tiffany Roberts, Town Council Chair John James and council Vice Chair Mallory Cook, and none was aware of the incident.
“As far as I am aware, the Town was not notified of any action taken by federal agents,” James said. “They have no requirement to notify us unless they require assistance.”
The agents, one of them masked, wore vests with patches attached to the front of their vests identifying them as federal agents, the resident said.
Several unmarked vehicles, including at least three SUVs, were parked along the side of Main Street, including a black Chevy Tahoe with blue lights on but no siren, according to the resident. The unmarked vehicles were on the side of the road and did not interfere in traffic traveling through town. A few cars were on Norton Street, waiting to turn onto Main Street, he noted.
Contacted by the Reporter via email Thursday morning, Stephens asked for the resident’s name so he could contact him.
“They should have called the police when this occurred,” said Stephens, who phoned the bystander and received his report.
The Police Department contacted the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Boston on Thursday to see if the agency was involved here, he said, but as of Friday morning police had not heard back.
