A West Tisbury man was arrested in Providence, R.I., late last month and charged with possession of heroin and intent to distribute heroin, after police working an undercover sting operation caught him trying to pay $11,000 for approximately 170 grams of uncut heroin.

Police believe that Robin Carberry, 24, a known acquaintance of the suspects arrested last November in a drug bust in Vineyard Haven, was planning to bring the heroin back to the Island to sell.

Mr. Carberry was at the scene last year when the Martha’s Vineyard Drug Task Force raided the West Spring street home of Kenneth Garde.

A total of 133 grams of heroin was confiscated during that November raid, and six people were arrested, including three of Mr. Garde’s adult children.

Police believe Mr. Carberry was living at the Garde home at the time, although he was not arrested.

State police Sergeant Jeff Stone, also the head of the Martha’s Vineyard Drug Task Force, said Mr. Carberry arrived at the Garde home after the raid had started. He was questioned and searched, and found to be in possession of several hypodermic syringes, which is not an arrestable offense.

Mr. Carberry has a lengthy criminal record here on the Vineyard. According to court records, he was arrested in March of 2004 on charges of possession of a Class E drug (percocet) and receiving stolen property.

At the time, he was arrested while police were searching for a pair of suspects who had burglarized the Mobil Airport Service Station.

When police searched a home on Plainfield Way in Edgartown looking for the suspects, they found large quantities of a variety of drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, prescription pills, mushrooms and crack cocaine. Two people were arrested for the break-in at the gas station, and four other men in the house — including Mr. Carberry — were arrested on drug charges.

Although Mr. Carberry was arrested during an undercover sting operation in Providence on July 20, he was not the target of the operation. Police had set up a fixed surveillance operation after receiving numerous complaints about street level narcotics activity in a Burger King parking lot, according to a police report from the Providence Police Department

Mr. Carberry pulled into the parking lot around 5 p.m. and parked directly behind the detectives’ undercover police vehicle, the report said. Mr. Carberry was observed making multiple phone calls before he drove across the street to a Shell gas station to meet two men later identified as Jonathon Lopez-Franqui, 24, and Hector Rivera, 29.

Mr. Carberry then got back in his car and followed a vehicle driven by Mr. Lopez-Franqui to the Roger Williams Park Zoo parking lot. Police followed closely behind and observed Mr. Rivera hand a large package of heroin wrapped in tinfoil to Mr. Carberry, who in return handed over a large white, rectangular object stuffed with cash.

The police report states the tinfoil contained “seventeen cylinder-shaped packages of suspected heroin (known on the street as Knuckles) along with one clear plastic bag of suspected heroin . . . [also] seized was one large white napkin wrapped with three rows of electrical tape from the waistband area of Mr. Rivera. This item was later found to contain $11,000 in U.S. currency.”

Both Mr. Rivera and Mr. Lopez-Franqui were charged with unlawful delivery of heroin and conspiracy.

Sgt. Stone said it was evident Mr. Carberry was planning on bringing the heroin back to the Island to sell.

“He lives here. He works here. He told police he was planning on coming back to the Island and bringing the drugs with him.”

The sergeant said that since Mr. Carberry’s arrest the Martha’s Vineyard Drug Task Force and Providence Police Department have shared information which could lead to additional arrests.

“We’ve picked up some useful contacts and information,” he said.