LEWISTON – Police and drug agents swept through the downtown area Thursday, arresting seven men and women on cocaine trafficking charges.

Investigators said the suspects are responsible for a steady flow of crack cocaine moving through the area since last year. An eighth man was arrested in New Hampshire Thursday night on a separate charge of providing OxyContin to a woman who later died from an overdose.

Many of those arrested in Lewiston Thursday are related to other suspects, reflecting a trend toward family members dealing together to diminish the chances of betrayal.

Starting in the late afternoon, investigators fanned out across the area, making arrests at downtown apartments, on the streets and at corner stores. The drug sweep was termed Operation Avalanche.

Officers from the Lewiston police Selective Enforcement Team joined Maine Drug Enforcement agents in a search for suspects indicted earlier in the week.

In all, 18 people were indicted Tuesday on drug charges stemming from the investigation. Some of the suspects are believed to be out of state, police said.

Starting at about 3 p.m., investigators picked up the suspects one-by-one. A few were found at their homes. One woman was arrested after the car she was riding in was stopped by police. Others were found walking on the street.

About 5 p.m., a patrol officer spotted one suspect at Lisbon Street News. The officer radioed a dispatcher and confirmed the man was being sought in the crack sweep.

Detectives and drug agents descended on the store and arrested the 41-year-old in the parking lot. The drug sweep was over at about 6 p.m. More arrests were expected in coming days, police said.

Among the suspects police were looking for Thursday was 44-year-old Mohammad R. Attaei, a New Hampshire man known to associate with people in the Twin Cities.

Attaei was indicted Tuesday on charges that he provided OxyContin to an Auburn woman who later overdosed on the drug.

Patricia Harmon, 33, collapsed at her Main Street apartment in Auburn in August 2002. Harmon lingered in a coma for nearly three weeks before she died at a Lewiston hospital.

At the time, Harmon’s family expressed outrage over how easily accessible OxyContin was in the Twin Cities. The story caught the attention of politicians who encouraged prosecution of drug dealers and stiffer laws controlling the distribution of prescription painkillers.

On Tuesday, Attaei was indicted on a charge of unlawful furnishing of drugs. Drug agents here advised police in Nashua, N.H., to be on the lookout for the suspect on Thursday. Police in Nashua kept Attaei’s home under surveillance all day and arrested him when he came home Thursday night.

“That’s awesome,” said Amy Hart, Harmon’s sister, when she learned of the arrest. “We always felt he had a big role in my sister’s death.”

The seven arrested in Lewiston Thursday are accused of dealing crack here starting in the fall. The suspects had sold the drug to undercover agents working in the downtown area, according to Maine Drug Enforcement Agency Supervisor Gerry Baril.

Several of the suspects have sons, brothers or daughters also named in the grand jury indictments handed up earlier this week, police said.

According to Baril, the bust may temporarily slow down the flow of crack in the area but it won’t put a halt to it.

“The demand for it is unrelenting. We just don’t see a decline in it at all,” Baril said. “We’re chipping away at it the best we can.”

Those arrested are:

• Amy Rawlings, 28, of 226 Blake St., on a charge of aggravated drug trafficking.

• Brian B. Boucher, 37, of 100 College St., on a charge of unlawful drug trafficking.

• Tyrone S. Lindsey, 21, of 56 Knox St., on a charge of aggravated drug trafficking.

• Clifford Veinott Sr., 41, of 45 Shawmut St. or 333 Leeds Junction Road, Wales, on a charge of unlawful drug trafficking.

• Terry Stairs, 41, of 226 Blake St., on charges of aggravated drug trafficking and conspiracy to traffic in drugs.

• Tyrell C. Teague, 28, of 353 Lisbon St., on a charges of aggravated drug trafficking and

• Ericka Meyers, also known as Ericka Brown, 18, of 49 Knox St., on a charge of unlawful drug trafficking.

[email protected]