LEWISTON – Three women were arrested Wednesday afternoon charged with dealing crack cocaine out of a Knox Street apartment.

Police said the trio was caught with $1,000 worth of the drug and a large amount of cash when investigators stormed the home at about 4:30 p.m.

Arrested were Colitha Lott, 29; Lucille “Pudgy” Calhoun, 37; and her sister Jackie “Peaches” Calhoun, 35.

All three were arrested on charges of trafficking in cocaine. Each remained at the Androscoggin County Jail on Wednesday night on $20,000 cash bail.

Police said the three suspects are from the Boston area. However it was believed Lucille Calhoun had been living in the apartment at 19 Knox St. with her 2-year-old son.

Over recent weeks, officers from the Lewiston Police Selective Enforcement Team have been investigating reported crack dealing at the home, officials said.

Investigators said throughout the day Wednesday, several people were known to have bought crack from the three woman at the apartment.

At about 4:30 p.m., local police assisted by state and federal drug agents burst through the door of the apartment. Investigators said each of the suspects was found inside, along with the 2-year-old child.

Police searched the apartment and said they found prepackaged crack cocaine and more than $1,000 in cash. Investigators said a telephone inside the apartment rang several times while police and drug agents were there. The callers were customers hoping to buy crack, police said.

The search of the apartment went smoothly, and the suspects were arrested without incident. However, outside the tenement, clusters of people began gathering on Knox Street to watch as the suspects were led one-by-one from the apartment.

At about 5:30 p.m., two women began fighting across the street from the scene of the crack raid. Police and the drug agents scrambled to break up the donnybrook while other cops were sent to the scene.

Both women involved in the fight – one of them pregnant, the other suffering asthma – were arrested. Both were bloodied in the scrap but their injuries were not believed to be serious.

Investigators said there was no connection between the women involved in the fight and those who were arrested for alleged crack dealing.

Police from the Selective Enforcement Team have been investigating reports of drug dealing, prostitution and other crimes being committed in high crime areas since the start of the year. They were assisted Wednesday by agents from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

Investigators said the three women arrested on drug charges appear to have connections to other people who have been arrested recently for dealing in the area. The focus on crack and cocaine trafficking is expected to continue in the inner city as part of a local and federal effort.