DEERFIELD — Massachusetts State Police troopers apprehended three individuals suspected of drug trafficking and carrying an illegal firearm during a traffic stop on Route 91 Monday afternoon.
Trooper Hunter Ratelle initiated the stop shortly after midday when he spotted a grey sedan with an unreadable rear registration tag.
The driver, identified as Nicol Murano, 48, of Brattleboro, was found to be without a valid driver’s license.
Ratelle handcuffed Murano and secured her in his cruiser, then determined that neither of the two passengers had valid licenses.
With additional support from Troopers Curtis Bamberg and Stephen Shearer, Ratelle conducted an inventory of the sedan.
During the process, he discovered 224 grams of crack cocaine and a disassembled 9mm Smith and Wesson handgun with a 16-round magazine behind the driver’s seat.
None of the sedan’s occupants were licensed to carry a firearm.
The passengers, Katie Beam, 36, of Brattleboro, and Najee Robertson, 35, of Bridgeport, Conn., were also placed under arrest.
All three were transported to the Shelburne Falls barracks for booking and were arraigned in Greenfield District Court.
They face multiple charges, including trafficking in cocaine, conspiracy to violate drug law, possession of a firearm without FID, possession of a firearm during a felony offense, and possession of a large capacity feeding device.
Murano also faces charges of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and a number plate violation.
Robertson is additionally charged with a firearm violation with one prior violent or drug crime.
