BOSTON — A Boston man faces drug trafficking and distribution charges after officers said they watched him make several hand-to-hand transactions on Albany Street on Oct. 28, the Boston Police Department said Thursday.

Russell Chase, 33, of Boston, was arrested by officers from the department's Neighborhood Engagement Safety Team and is expected to be arraigned in Boston Municipal Court on charges of trafficking fentanyl, distributing fentanyl, possession of a Class B drug, and possession with intent to distribute Class C and Class E drugs, police said.

According to police, officers saw a group of about 10 people gathered on the sidewalk at about 5:04 p.m. A man approached Chase, who reached into a bag on the ground and handed him four items, police said. The man then left. Officers said they later saw Chase take several items from his waistband and make several more transactions with other people before they stopped him.

Officers found a folding knife on Chase, police said. In his jacket and pants pockets, they said, they found four plastic bags holding seven, nine, five and seven smaller bags of fentanyl, a paper fold of crack cocaine, a bag of psilocybin mushrooms, 20 loose gabapentin pills and cash. His backpack held two digital scales and a box of sandwich bags, according to police.

The charges are allegations, and Chase is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

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