LEWISTON – Three New York men were arrested on drug charges Thursday after the car they were riding in was stopped and searched by police and drug agents.

The downtown arrest forced the closure of a section of Pine Street for nearly two hours as drug agents investigated and the suspects were taken into custody.

Arrested were Malik Younger of Brooklyn, Carl Pollard of Queens, N.Y., and Deshaun Walcott of Freeport, N.Y. Each was arrested on a charge of trafficking in crack cocaine. Each of the suspects is 24 years old.

Police said they found crack cocaine stashed in a can of foot powder with a false bottom in the trunk of the car. Investigators also seized $2,600 in cash they say is the result of drug sales.

Agents from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency said they have been monitoring suspects from New York who are known to peddle crack in Lewiston.

At about 11 a.m., a car full of suspects known to the agents was pulled over by members of the Lewiston police Selective Enforcement Team, police said. A police dog was sent to the scene and eventually helped sniff out the pre-packaged crack stashed in the trunk police said.

Younger, Pollard and Walcott were each arrested and taken to the Androscoggin County Jail. Investigators said the three are part of a New York-based drug organization that has been operating out of Lewiston for about a year.

Walcott had personal identification with three different names listed, police said. Drug agents and a Lewiston police detective spent more than an hour coming up with the suspect’s correct identity.

Police said the New York drug suspects typically deal crack to Lewiston residents by setting up in a local apartment or house occupied by a local woman.

The suspects arrested Thursday are believed to be associated with others distributing crack in Portland, MDEA officials said. The car they were driving was registered to a Portland woman. Drug agents from that city were notified about the bust Thursday afternoon.

Police said their focus on out-of-state drug dealers will continue throughout the summer.

Several people have been arrested since the start of the year, after local Selective Enforcement Team officers began teaming up with MDEA agents.