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08.15.2013 | PALMER -- Ludlow Police Lt. Thomas Foye appears in Palmer District Court Thursday afternoon.

(Dave Roback | The Republican)

UPDATE, 4:30 p.m.: A new story has been posted.

UPDATE, 3:19 p.m.: Foye was released on conditions that include staying drug free and submitting to random drug testing after his arraignment at Palmer District Court. He was ordered to turn in all firearms. A new story, with details from the arraignment, will be posted.

LUDLOW -- Police Lt. Thomas F. Foye has been arrested for the alleged theft of drugs from a police evidence locker, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced Thursday.

Foye, 49, is charged with theft of drugs from a depository and possession of a class B substance (cocaine).

After an internal investigation, the Ludlow Police Department contacted the Hampden County District Attorney's Office, which then referred the matter to the Attorney General's Office.

"The AG's Office began an immediate investigation into the matter," the statement from Coakley's office reads. "Foye was arrested this morning after he allegedly accessed the evidence locker without authorization. Upon arresting Foye, authorities discovered him in possession of what appeared to be cocaine."

Records at the Massachusetts State Police station on Liberty Street in Springfield list the time of the arrest, made by state police assigned to the Attorney General's Office, as 10:13 a.m.

Foye, a former school committee member who was appointed as a provisional lieutenant in May, is expected to be arraigned Thursday afternoon in Palmer District Court.

The incident remains under investigation by state police.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Marina Moriarty and Criminal Bureau Chief John Verner of the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office.

In the 1990s, Foye served on an anti-gang unit, and as the department's D.A.R.E. officer -- a role in which he was charged with teaching students in grades 2, 4, 5 and 7 about the dangers of drug use.

Foye's more recent history at the department includes an incident in which a suspect in a drug case allegedly went to his home to intimidate him for his role in the investigation.

The suspect was convicted in January of 2012 on a range of charges, including possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. He was convicted trespassing, intimidation of a witness, and resisting arrest for the incident at Foye's home, during which he threatened to "get even" with Foye from jail and then chest-bumped him, leading to a scuffle.

In an April, 2012 interview with The Republican about a rise in drug arrests and house breaks in Ludlow, Foye said the drug problem in the town was the worst he had seen in 25 years on the force.

This is a developing story. Details will be added as our reporting continues.