LEWISTON – A four-hour-long police roadblock aimed at catching people driving illegally snagged nine Monday.

Police issued summonses to five people for operating after suspension and four more for operating without a license at all.

“We didn’t really have a target number in mind,” said patrol officer Rob Dionne, one of eight Lewiston officers staked out on lower Lisbon Street.

As people drove down the hill, bearing right toward The Public Theatre and Oxford Networks, police earmarked cars to be pulled over.

“It was totally at random,” Dionne said. “As soon as an officer was through with a stop, someone else was sent to them.”

No one complained, Dionne said. There were even thank-yous, though those unlikely came from people facing fines.

Besides the nine ineligible drivers, police also issued two summonses for inspection sticker violations, two for lack of proof of insurance and one for a suspended registration.

The stop was the first of its kind in Lewiston. Auburn police recently performed a similar road block.

Lewiston police plan to compile their findings before deciding on another move. However, there will be more stops, Dionne promised.

The next won’t be on a quiet Monday morning on Lisbon Street, either.

“That’s going to be totally random,” he said.