BREWER – Police executed a search warrant Thursday morning, breaking up a drug operation located three houses down from the police station.

As a result of what police described as a “surgical strike” search of the 106 South Main St. apartment, police arrested three people and seized items that they expect will lead to more charges against those suspects as well as charges against others.

Richard “Cali” Duncan, 21, was charged with possession of cocaine; Chris Reilly, 19, was arrested on a probation violation after he failed a urine drug test and Reilly’s girlfriend Rebecca Chapman, 19, was charged with possession of hypodermic apparatus, reported Sgt. Chris Martin of the Brewer Police Department.

A fourth person, identified as 18-year-old Timothy Gosselin – a primary suspect according to police – was already in jail at the time of the search and is expected to be charged as part of the investigation.

Among the items seized were at least 20 used hypodermic needles and many more unused needles; a plastic bag containing cocaine; a mirror and burnt spoons that contained a white powdery substance; two marijuana bongs, including one about 6 feet long; and documents that included records, telephone numbers and information indicative of the trafficking and furnishing of drugs, Martin said.

Police entered the home at 8:45 a.m. and as some officers secured the downstairs, other officers headed for the second floor where they quickly handcuffed Duncan, who Martin said was considered the most dangerous of those inside. Police found a large knife by Duncan’s bed Thursday.

Vigilant in their efforts to curb drug use in Brewer, police found that this drug operation was hitting a little close to home, literally a few houses down the street.

“If they were that brazen – right in front of us – then what must the neighbors think” about what police are doing about the problem, Martin said.

Police began seeing the signs of trouble at the beginning of this month as increasingly more people were visiting the home for short periods of time and then leaving. Then came an increase in crime in the immediate area.

Police began surveillance of the home, its residents and the people who visited or mulled about outside, Martin said. Day and night crews stopped and interviewed anyone they considered suspicious in the area, trying to get information about the goings-on at the apartment.

Brewer Cpl. Jason Moffitt served as a primary surveillance officer, using the cover of bushes, cars and even the roof to glean what information he could.

“I had that guy everywhere,” Martin said of Moffitt. “There wasn’t a place where he wasn’t.”

In a matter of weeks, the pieces came together. People with known histories or associations with drug use were being connected with the home. One person interviewed in the area had a fresh track mark on an arm, indicative of intravenous drug use, Martin said.

Duncan’s previous residence on Church Street had been searched last spring and besides seizing a sawed-off shotgun, police seized a white powdery substance found in bags that tested positive for cocaine.

Residents in the apartment also were going across the street to the Big Apple convenience store to use the pay phones, even though police observed that they had access to a cordless phone inside the apartment. Investigators observed “hand-to-hand transactions” between people near motor vehicles or in front of the house and Martin said that this week, sources provided information of drug use and trafficking of OxyContin and cocaine by the people inside.