2 Arrested On Drug Charges In Tewksbury: Police

TEWKSBURY, MA — Tewksbury police arrested two men on drug charges after stopping a vehicle that had been reported stolen.

Police made the stop Monday at 8 p.m. in the area of 95 Main St. A detective officer noticed that the vehicle had been reported stolen out of Carlisle.

The detective followed the vehicle into a Motel 6 parking lot, where she and other officers approached and stopped two people as they got out of the vehicle, according to police.

The driver, Richard Payne, 36, of Bedford, was taken into custody for use of a motor vehicle without authority. A police search of the vehicle found several tablets of prescription medication in the glove box, according to police. Payne was also charged with two counts of possession of a class-E substance.

A police search of the passenger in the vehicle, Vannak Chea, 37, of Lowell, found about 11 grams of crack cocaine in nine individual baggies, two grams of fentanyl in three individual baggies, 13 strips of Suboxone, nine tablets of Zubsolv, and 20 tablets of Gabapentin, according to police.

Chea was charged with possession of a class A substance with intent to distribute, two counts of possession of a class B substance with intent to distribute, and possession of a class E substance with intent to distribute.