Merrimack police photo Alexander Twardosky, 24, of 8 Elm St., Merrimack

MERRIMACK – Police on Wednesday identified six local residents who were among the 151 suspects taken into custody statewide during the comprehensive Granite Shield sweep on Feb. 15.

The six individuals, all in their 20s, were taken into custody at three different residences, according to police. They said members of county, state and federal law enforcement agencies teamed up with detectives in Merrimack’s Special Investigation Unit on the arrests.

Search warrants that police sought, and were granted, were served at the three locations – 29 Middlesex Road, 8 Elm St. and 29 East Ridge Road, police said.

Those arrested and their charges follow.

Merrimack police photo Christopher Twardosky, 23, of 8 Elm St., Merrimack

 Coleman Marcus, 22, of 29 Middlesex Road. Two counts, conspiracy to sell a narcotic drug; one count, possession of narcotic drug.

 Joshua Morales, 25, of 8 Elm St. Two counts, sale of a narcotic drug.

 Christopher Twardosky, 23, of 8 Elm St. One count each, sale of a narcotic drug; transportation of a controlled drug.

 Alexander Twardosky, 24, 8 Elm St. One count, possession of a narcotic drug.

 Stephen Pierce, 24, of 8 Elm St. One count each, possession of a controlled drug; illegal possession of prescription drugs.

Merrimack police photo Coleman Marcus, 22, of 29 Middlesex Road, Merrimack

 Dianna Brooks, 22, of 29 East Ridge Road. One count, possession of a narcotic drug.

All six were transported to police headquarters for booking, where all except Marcus were released on personal recognizance bail pending arraignment, which is scheduled for Thursday, March 1, in Hillsborough County Superior court South in Nashua.

Marcus was jailed overnight on $20,000 cash only bail, and on Feb. 16 he waived formal arraignment and entered not guilty pleas to the charges, all of which are Class B felonies.

A judge modified his bail to $20,000 personal recognizance, and scheduled a dispositional conference for 10 a.m. on March 29 in the Nashua court.

Court documents list an alternate address for Marcus of 110 Crestview Road, Manchester. His bail orders require him to live at that address as his case moves forward.

Merrimack police photo Dianna Brooks, 22, of 29 East Ridge Road, Merrimack

Police said that in the weeks leading up to the raids, undercover officers bought heroin or fentanyl twice from Marcus, on Feb. 7 and 8. They also bought drugs twice from Morales, and once from Christopher Twardosky.

Marcus and Brooks were arrested at the East Ridge Road address, where police said they were allegedly in possession of about 10 grams of heroin or fentanyl. They said a quantity of a substance suspected to be heroin or fentanyl was also recovered from Marcus’s Middlesex Road residence.

Police arrested the other four suspects at 8 Elm St., where they said they found Alex Twardosky allegedly in possession of a hypodermic needle and a quantity of suspected heroin or fentanyl. Christopher Twardosky was allegedly in possession of a quantity of suspected heroin or fentanyl and several prescription pills that are also controlled drugs.

Pierce was accused of possessing a “strip” of the drug Suboxone, along with several different kinds of prescription drugs for which, police said, he didn’t have valid prescriptions.

The sweep comes less than a month after police, in response to an alarming spike in illegal drug use, especially methamphetamines, formed a unit to focus specifically on the problem.

Merrimack police photo Joshua Morales, 25, of 8 Elm St., Merrimack

“The department is committed to working against the drug epidemic and maintaining the quality of life in Merrimack,” police said in a statement.

They stressed the importance of community involvement, urging residents to “let the department know (if) they suspect any type of criminal activity is occurring in their neighborhood.

“If you see something, say something,” police wrote.

Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 594-1256, dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com or @Telegraph_DeanS.

Merrimack police photo Stephen Pierce, 24, of 8 Elm St., Merrimack