Portsmouth Police Department’s booking photo of Samantha Carfora.

PORTSMOUTH — A 29-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday, Dec. 6, on charges of trafficking fentanyl in the local area.

After an ongoing investigation, at about 11 a.m. on Wednesday officers stopped a vehicle on Boyd’s Lane that was driven by a suspected drug trafficker who was known to be operating in town, police said.

The operator was identified as Samantha Carfora, 28, formerly of Middletown.

“Approximately 18 grams of suspected fentanyl were discovered and seized during the motor vehicle stop,” police stated in a press release. “The drugs were tested at Portsmouth Police headquarters, which confirmed the substance as fentanyl.”

Carfora was arrested on the scene and charged with the delivery of a controlled substance. She was later transported to 2nd Division District Court in Newport for her arraignment, and held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranson, police said.