DEXTER – The first of what officials believe could be a series of cocaine-related arrests was completed May 30 when four central Maine residents were taken into custody.

“We were notified by the Dexter Police Department about a possible cocaine ring in the town,” said Sgt. Garry Higgins, supervisory special agent for the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. “During the investigation, controlled purchases of cocaine were made in eight-ball [3.5 grams] quantities.”

Two Dexter housemates, Donald Vigue, 28, and Scott Clukey, 23, as well as Sean Ludden, 31, of Palmyra, each were charged with trafficking in cocaine, Higgins said Tuesday. A third Dexter housemate, 24-year-old Randi Cookson, was charged with possession of cocaine.

Members of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, Dexter Police Department and the Maine State Police raided the trio’s home at 49 Crockett Road and seized cocaine, marijuana, cash and a .40-caliber semiautomatic Beretta handgun, Higgins said. Between sting operations and the raid on the home, officials seized nearly 37 grams of cocaine with a street value of about $100 per gram.

“We’ve had information for about a year, but we just had to wait until the DEA could give us a hand,” Dexter police Chief David Clukey said Tuesday. “This is a small town and everybody knows who you are. You just can’t do drug busts alone.”

Police seized a small amount of marijuana in the raid and additional charges will likely be filed in the near future, Higgins said. The handgun, found in Scott Clukey’s room, was located near where some of the drugs were being stored.

Police also seized more than $1,500 in cash from the home, Higgins said.

Members of the MDEA had been working undercover for more than two months to facilitate the arrests and numerous purchases were made during that time.

While Ludden did not live with the three Dexter residents, information gathered during the investigation tied him into the cocaine distribution, Higgins said.

None of the suspects was found at the home during the raid, but members of the Dexter Police Department arrested Randi Cookson at a bar on Water Street and Vigue and Clukey at a Dexter restaurant on Route 7 after the search, Chief Clukey said. Ludden was arrested in the Newport area by MDEA officials before the search warrant on the house was executed.

The four arrests could have far-reaching effects, officials said

“There is believed to be a connection with several other towns, both coming to and going from [Dexter],” Chief Clukey said. “I suspect there will be more [arrests] forthcoming.”

Officials are pleased that nearly a year’s worth of work ended in arrests and seizures.

“The Dexter community should see a significant reduction in cocaine and they can thank their police department for that,” Higgins said. “It’s gratifying because our goal is to get drugs off the street and arrest drug traffickers.”

“Thirty-seven grams [of cocaine] is quite a lot,” Chief Clukey said. “It may not be a lot for a lot of places, but for Dexter this is a good one.”

Chief Clukey credited the communication between the state and local police and the MDEA for the success of the investigation, but noted that the initial legwork of Officer Kevin Wintle made it possible. “He put in a lot of time and energy to make this possible,” Clukey said.

Scott Clukey, Vigue and Cookson were released by the Dexter Police Department on personal recognizance bail the same day of their arrests, while Ludden was taken to Penobscot County Jail in Bangor and released a day later on $1,500 cash bail, officials said. Officials would not comment on why Ludden was not released on personal recognizance and the others were.

Ludden will appear in District Court in Newport July 10, while Vigue, Scott Clukey and Cookson are scheduled to make their initial court appearances July 17.

“[The arrests] give the message that if you continue doing drugs you will be caught,” Chief Clukey said. “We’re not going to give up until we’ve caught you.”