Shaun Miller had been sought since April raids targeting Hyannis street gang.

SOUTH YARMOUTH — Local police and federal agents on Thursday arrested a 30-year-old Hyannis man in an elaborate disguise who had been on the run since a series of raids in early April on an alleged heroin distribution ring.

Shaun Miller, also known as “Shizz” and “Shizz Miller,” was arrested after walking out of a South Yarmouth house in a molded mask that made it appear he was an elderly man, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz’s office. When police realized it was a disguise, they pulled off the mask and took him into custody, the statement says.

"It was Hollywood quality," Barnstable police Lt. Mark Mellyn said of the mask. "It was unbelievable."

A search of the house uncovered two loaded weapons hidden in a laundry basket and nearly $30,000 in cash, according to Ortiz's statement.

Miller was charged on a federal warrant for possession of heroin with intent to distribute, police said. After a hearing Friday in U.S. District Court in Boston, he was placed in the custody of U.S. marshals until a detention hearing Aug. 31, according to court records.

Miller had been wanted by police since he eluded capture during the April raids and related arrests that resulted in federal or state charges against 19 people said to be members or associates of the Hyannis-based “Nauti-Block” gang.

The Nauti-Block gang: What you should know

Two of the drug trafficking organization’s alleged leaders — Denzel Chisholm, of West Yarmouth, and Christopher Wilkins, of Hyannis — and more than a dozen of their associates were arrested in the sweep, but a warrant was issued for Miller, who was not picked up at the time.

Chisholm; Tyrone Gomes, 31, of Hyannis, who was already in custody at the time of the raids; and Chisholm’s sister, Shannelle, of Mashpee, also were charged with first-degree murder in the death of Christine Ferreira, 28, whose body was found at a Route 6 rest area in September.

For the past four months Barnstable and Yarmouth police have been actively searching for Miller and keeping tabs on his mother’s house, which they, along with the Cape Cod Regional Law Enforcement Council SWAT Team and federal agents, surrounded Thursday, according to Mellyn.

Officers watched the house for a full day to confirm that the man they had seen going in was Miller, he said.

When those inside were ordered to come out, the man who turned out to be Miller came out the front door relatively quickly, Mellyn said, while his mother came out the back. Officers suspect this was a diversion tactic, as parties who surrender usually all come the same exit, he said. The mother’s boyfriend came out about 15 minutes later.

Wearing a mask, a zipped-up jacket and hat, Miller quickly began talking to officers, Mellyn said. He and the other two were taken into custody to be debriefed, and officers realized something was awry when they found about $10,000 on the elderly man, he said. The edges of his eyes also made officers suspicious.

“He was probably expecting us to move him outside the danger zone,” Mellyn said, and then probably would have tried to sneak away.

After booking Miller refused to speak to officers and it was unclear Friday where he has been hiding for the past four months, Mellyn said.

At the time of the April raids local and federal officials, including Ortiz, called the Nauti-Block gang “dangerous” and “a key drug operation” responsible for a significant portion of the heroin being distributed in the region.

Spearheaded by Chisholm and Wilkins, who regularly pooled money to purchase drugs in New Bedford for resale on the Cape, the operation was responsible for a significant portion of the heroin being distributed in the region, according to an affidavit in support of arrest warrants filed in federal court.

Miller was considered to be part of the gang’s next tier, which bought heroin, fentanyl and cocaine from Chisholm and Wilkins for street-level distribution throughout the region.

According to the affidavit, Miller and Brooke Cotell, of Hyannis, bought 100 grams of heroin from Denzel Chisholm on Nov. 16 at the Founders Court apartment complex and later tried to dispose of the drug when stopped by police. A search of Cotell’s cellphone after her arrest showed she and Miller were regular customers of Chisholm’s and arranged drug buys through phone calls and text messages, the affidavit says.

Law enforcement officers used informants, surveillance, controlled drug buys, pole cameras, car stops and wiretaps during the investigation, which began in October. A large amount of blue-tinted heroin distributed on the Cape in recent months was key in identifying Chisholm and Wilkins as the source of the drug, the affidavit says. The blue coloring was caused by “cut,” or an additive in the drug, that both men were selling.

— Staff writer Ethan Genter contributed to this report.