North Charleston police arrested three people Wednesday evening on multiple drug charges after observing what officers believed was a hand-to-hand drug transaction.

Around 7:15 p.m., officers with the North Charleston Police Department were conducting proactive patrols along Ashley Phosphate Road because of increased drug activity in the area. They were also searching for a suspect connected to a trespassing incident at the Rodeway Inn.

During the patrol, officers saw a person matching the suspect’s description standing by the driver’s side window of a vehicle. Police said they observed what appeared to be a hand-to-hand exchange between the suspect and the people inside the car. The suspect then reached into the vehicle, continued speaking with the occupants, and eventually got into the rear passenger seat.

Officers waited on a nearby side street for the vehicle to leave the parking lot. When it pulled onto Stafford Road and stopped at the intersection with Ashley Phosphate Road, officers followed and positioned their patrol car behind it. Police reported the driver appeared nervous while waiting at the intersection.

At the intersection of Northwoods Boulevard and Ashley Phosphate Road, officers activated their blue lights and attempted a traffic stop. The vehicle eventually pulled over on LaQuinta Lane.

Officers conducted a Terry frisk on the three occupants of the vehicle. One of them, identified as 34-year-old Brandy Marie Farless of North Charleston, told officers there were several needles in her bag and said she was an intravenous drug user who was trying to get clean.

A probable cause search of the vehicle led officers to several hypodermic needles scattered throughout the front passenger area and in a shared storage compartment beneath the gear shift. Inside a bag on the front passenger floorboard, officers found a clear plastic bag containing about 0.41 grams of a pink powder, which field-tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl, according to police.

Farless, 46-year-old Antonio Mack Steward of North Charleston, and 62-year-old Martin W. Montjoy of Summerville were each charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl within proximity of a school or public park, and possession of cocaine.

All three were taken to the Al Cannon Detention Center.