Three people are facing drug trafficking charges after investigators executed a search warrant Wednesday at a Pittsfield home and seized a large quantity of suspected illegal drugs, police officials said.

The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office executed the search warrant at the residence of Julie McDaniel on Sibley Pond Road around 1:50 p.m., Sheriff Dale Lancaster said in a statement Thursday.

The team of a dozen investigators from the Sheriff’s Office, Pittsfield Police Department and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency found and seized approximately 780 grams, or nearly two pounds, of suspected fentanyl and cocaine, Lancaster said. 

They also found and seized a loaded 12-gauge shotgun, $4,084 in cash, digital scales and other drug-related documentation and items. 

The drugs are estimated to have a street value of $78,000, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators obtained the search warrant after a monthslong investigation into illegal drugs allegedly being sold at the house, Lancaster said.

Police arrested Hector Marrero, 34, of New Jersey, and Kelvin Staton, 35, of New York, Lancaster said. Each was charged with two class A counts of aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs. 

The charges are aggravated because of the quantity of drugs, the presence of the loaded gun, and past convictions, Lancaster said. Marrero is on federal probation for drug-related convictions in New York; Staton has a past felony-level drug conviction, the sheriff said. Staton was previously charged after a February 2018 drug bust at a Fairfield home.

Marrero and Staton were each being held at the Somerset County Jail in Madison with bail set at $100,000 cash.

If they remain in custody, they would be expected to make an initial court appearance Friday in Skowhegan, when a judge would review probable cause for the arrests, consider adjusting bail and appoint attorneys, if necessary.

They are each due back in court May 6 in Skowhegan.

McDaniel, 69, whose home was the subject of the search, was charged with two Class A counts of aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs, Lancaster said. McDaniel was summonsed to appear in court May 6 in Skowhegan.

The district attorney’s office is reviewing the case and the charges. Prosecutors must first obtain an indictment from a grand jury for the Class A, felony-level charges before any of the three would be asked to enter a plea.

“The seizure of this amount of Fentanyl/Fentanyl laced drugs off the streets will save many lives,” Lancaster said in his statement.