An East Boston man was arrested on Glen St. and charged with cocaine trafficking last week after police allegedly discovered 57 grams of cocaine on his person and hidden in his car. K-9 units from three cities allegedly helped sniff out the drugs.

According to the police report, the Somerville Police Department Drug Control Unit has been conducting an ongoing narcotic investigation focused on a residence in East Somerville. Working on a lead that included the vehicle make, license plate and appearance of the man believed to be the principle cocaine supplier, members of the Somerville Police Department Drug Control Unit and the Somerville Police Department Anti Crime/Gang Unit established surveillance of the area.

When the suspect arrived at the residence just after 8 p.m. on Feb. 22, police report that his “activity/behavior displayed at the time of his arrival and subsequent interaction was deemed to be consistent with actions displayed at the time of an illegal narcotic delivery,” giving them grounds to make a motor vehicle stop and approach the suspect, later identified at Nicolas Suarez, 52, of 562 Broadway, East Boston.

After the officer identified himself, Suarez allegedly “furtively” reached into the front pouch pocket of his sweatshirt, alarming the officer, who “neutralized the defendant’s hand,” states the report.

A plastic bag containing approximately 14 grams of cocaine was allegedly found in Suarez’s pocket, but according to police it didn’t end there. A search of Suarez’s car allegedly first turned up a plastic bottle that contained 14 more clear plastic bags of cocaine, and then the dogs were brought in.

Max of the Somerville Police Department, Xandu of the Everett Police Department and Marco of the Medford Police Department—all drug detection canines—all "alerted to the presence or recent presence of an odor of a controlled substance” in an area of the car. Once that area was searched, an additional clear plastic bag containing 11 individual plastic bags of cocaine was found.

In all, police report they recovered and entered into evidence 26 individual bags containing a substance believed to be cocaine with a total preliminary weight of approximately 57 grams, which carries an approximate street value of $5,700.

Suarez was arrested and charged with cocaine trafficking. Because the alleged criminal activity took place within 1000 feet of the Edgerly building (which houses the Full Circle/Next Wave alternative schools and the 1st-4th grades of the East Somerville Community School), Suarez was also charged with a drug violation near a school or a park, which carries a mandatory two-year sentence if convicted.