The discovery came during a traffic stop on Thursday, Nov. 5, in Montgomery County's Glenmont area, where officers arrested two boys and an adult passenger on weapons charges.
Officers with the department's 4th District Community Action Team spotted the vehicle traveling along Randolph Road toward New Hampshire Avenue before pulling it over near East Randolph Road and Kara Lane.
Police did not say what prompted the stop.
With five people inside, officers called in a K-9 unit, which alerted to the possible presence of drugs during a scan of the vehicle's exterior.
The search that followed uncovered more than suspected drugs.
One handgun was hidden beneath the driver's seat, loaded with a round in the chamber. Three others were recovered from the waistbands of two passengers, police said.
Officers also seized THC vape cartridges and suspected cannabis packaged for distribution.
All five occupants were taken to the department's 3rd District station for processing.
Two boys were charged with handgun-related offenses and placed in a juvenile detention facility.
A third passenger, Braulin De Los Santos Echavarria, of Hyattsville, was charged with handgun-related offenses and taken to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit.
The driver is expected to be charged with possession of cannabis with intent to distribute, according to investigators.
A woman who was also in the vehicle was released without charges.
Police have not disclosed the ages of those involved or specified which weapons charges were filed.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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