NATCHEZ &8212; Friday afternoon the Adams County Sheriff&8217;s Office raided a house where drugs were sold and manufactured, seizing what may be the largest amount of cocaine in recent history.

They found 692.8 grams of powder cocaine, 32.8 grams of crack cocaine and $2,962 in cash at 36 Bishop St., they said.

The estimated street value of the drugs was $145,120. If the cocaine had been converted to crack, the value could double, Frank Smith at the sheriff&8217;s office said.

&8220;A tenth of a gram of cocaine in Natchez can sell for $20,&8221; said Kyle Wilson, a metro narcotics agent.

Three people were taken into custody and are being investigated, Sheriff Ronny Brown said.

Willie Dawson II, 29, Lawrence Mason, 32, and Troy Johnson, 42 are being held at the Adams County Jail.

The bust was a big one for Adams County, Brown said.

&8220;That&8217;s more powder cocaine I&8217;ve seen since I&8217;ve been sheriff,&8221; he said. &8220;If it&8217;s not the most we&8217;ve got here, it&8217;s close to it. It&8217;s a major deal getting that off the street.&8221;

Brown said the sheriff&8217;s office received several phone calls over several days from residents living near the house.

The sheriff&8217;s office staked out the house and raided it around 2 p.m. Friday, Brown said.

People would come to the house to buy and take the drugs, he said. One of the people in custody was the primary resident of the house, and two of the individuals were manufacturing crack cocaine.

&8220;When one ran out the back, two deputies were waiting,&8221; Brown said.

&8220;We had three phone calls in an hour this morning. If you call us, we&8217;re going to take care of it.&8221;

Citizens play a key role in catching drug dealers, Cliff Cox, commander of metro narcotics said Friday.

&8220;They live here and see what goes on 24 hours a day,&8221; Cox said. &8220;They can clean up the neighborhood.&8221;

The case is still under investigation, Brown said. Because of the quantity of drugs found, he said, the federal government may decide to take the case.