Occupy Boston protester charged with selling Xanax to undercover police officers

By Jaime Lutz, Globe Correspondent

In a move that infuriated some Occupy Boston protesters, Boston police on Tuesday arrested an Occupy Boston protester after she allegedly sold $20 worth of prescription drugs to undercover police.

Martina “Mama” Martin was taken into custody near the tent that supplies clothes to the protesters, who have been living in a tent city in Dewey Square since last month. In a report, police said they had seen an increase in illegal drug activity in the downtown area, which they attributed to the arrival of the Occupy Boston encampment.

Acting on a tip that a man and woman inside the group’s clothes tent were selling Xanax illegally, undercover officers successfully bought 10 Xanax pills for $20 from Martin, who shared a group hug with undercover officers after the transaction and told them to call her “Mama.’’

Martin did not struggle with police, but as officers took her into custody, her fellow protesters angrily surrounded the officers while shouting obscenities at them. Police called in reinforcements, but the tensions eventually subsided between protesters and police.

Police tried to recover the marked money they allegedly paid to Martin, but were unable to locate it, according to the report. Martin was scheduled to be arraigned today on charges of distributing Class C drugs and possession with intent to distribute within 100 feet of the Rose Kennedy Fitzgerald Greenway.

Police said in the report that the pills were prescribed to Martin, dispensed by a pharmacist on Oct. 31.

In a separate incident, police arrested Matthew Douglas, 40, for disorderly conduct after he repeatedly shouted threats at the protesters after they threw him out of the encampment for allegedly stealing money and other items from tents.

Douglas, who police said appeared to be under the influence of an illegal drug, challenged the protesters to fight him and repeatedly yelled obscenities at them.

When he ignored multiple orders to leave the scene, he was arrested, police said.