AUBURN — A high-tech tracking device placed in a bottle of pills helped lead police to a robbery suspect who was arrested Wednesday night.

Benjamin Lukeski had no idea when he took six bottles of OxyContin in the Nov. 24 heist that one contained a GPS unit that led police to his home, according to court documents.

The device, a tactical narcotic tracker, was described in Androscoggin County Superior Court on Thursday as Lukeski was formally charged with robbing the Lisbon Street Rite Aid.

The 24-year-old Minot man pleaded not guilty to the charge and was returned to jail on $10,000 bail. Lukeski was described by his lawyer as having “a terrible drug problem,” one that forced him into a rehabilitation facility shortly after the robbery.

Police said on the night of the robbery, Lukeski went to the Rite Aid pharmacy counter and initially asked a pharmacy worker about cough medicine. As the employee rung up two items, Lukeski suddenly handed over a note, according to court records.

The pharmacy worker looked over the note and spotted the words “OxyContin” and, “I know where you live,” according to a police affidavit. Lukeski then told the worker to keep her hands above her waist and said, “Don’t test me right now. I have nothing to lose; I will pull out this gun and shoot you.”

The employee began placing bottles of OxyContin into a white plastic bag provided by the suspect, according to the affidavit. In all, six bottles went into the bag, including the one containing the tracking device.

The suspect then fled the store, according to the court document, and was last seen driving away on South Avenue.

Police who responded immediately began searching for the suspect. Officer David Levesque was assigned to pursue the track of the GPS device as it was relayed to him from the emergency dispatch center, according to the affidavit.

The device led police to 503 Pottle Hill Road in Minot, which later proved to be the home of Lukeski and his girlfriend. At that address, police learned that Lukeski had been addicted to oxycodone and that he had been using crack cocaine and suboxin. They also recovered other evidence and began searching for Lukeski.

Before he was captured, Lukeski checked himself into St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, according to information presented at the hearing on Thursday. A prosecutor said Lukeski had learned he had been identified as a suspect in the robbery and went into the hospital to evade arrest.

Meanwhile, using the GPS tracking technology, police were able to recover four of the empty pill bottles taken in the Rite Aid robbery. They were found, according to the court affidavit, on the property around Lukeski’s home.

Lukeski was arrested at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when police spotted him in the area of College and Sabattus streets after he had checked out of St. Mary’s. Lukeski has since remained at the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn.

Police and pharmacy officials had been staying mum about the GPS device used to help track robbery suspects. But when the technology was discussed in open court on Thursday, Lukeski and other suspects awaiting their own court hearings learned that police were using a new system to track them down.

Police declined to elaborate on the effectiveness of the GPS unit in their investigation of the robbery.

“Due to the fact that this case is still being actively investigated,” said Lewiston Police Chief Michael Bussiere, “and as a matter of practice, we will not comment on countermeasures and investigatory techniques which may or may not be used by businesses and/or the police department.”