The Healey administration’s Western Massachusetts Deputy Director Lamar Cook was arrested after State Police intercepted a cocaine shipment at the Springfield State Office, the Hampden DA’s office announced Wednesday.

“The Governor’s Office has been made aware of the arrest of an employee, Lamar Cook,” a spokesperson for the governor said. “The conduct that occurred here is unacceptable and represents a major breach of the public trust. Mr. Cook has been terminated from his position effective immediately. This criminal investigation is ongoing, and our administration will work with law enforcement to assist them in their work.”

Lamar Cook, 45, of Springfield, was arrested while driving his car on Tuesday evening and charged with trafficking 200 grams or more of cocaine, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. Cook, who has worked in the Healey administration since 2023, is scheduled to be arraigned in Springfield District Court on Wednesday.

State Police have seized “multiple parcels containing a combined total of approximately 21 kilograms of suspected cocaine” in the investigation, the DA’s office said.

The defendant’s trafficking charges relate to about eight kilograms of suspected cocaine intercepted during a “controlled delivery operation” at the Springfield State Office building on Dwight St. where Cook worked on Saturday, according to the Hampden DA.

On Monday night, the DA’s office said, state police investigators executed a search warrant for the suspect’s former office in the building.

The investigation stems from two prior drug trafficking seizures earlier this month, the DA’s office said. In one on Oct. 10, police intercepted about 13 kilograms of suspected cocaine in two “suspicious packages” at Hotel UMass in Amherst. Cook was the Director of Hotel UMass before being hired by the Healey administration.

“Evidence collected during that operation was consistent with the narcotics recovered during the most recent controlled delivery in Springfield,” the Hampden DA’s office said.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Kennealy released a statement on the arrest Wednesday, calling the incident a “disgrace for our state.” and a direct reflection of Healey’s failed leadership.

“She must be held accountable for the people she chooses to surround herself with,” Kennealy said. “Whether it’s general leadership incompetence and the high turnover among her cabinet secretaries, or criminal behavior like that of LaMar Cook, there’s something fundamentally rotten in this administration.”

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The Hampden DA stated the investigation being led by the Massachusetts State Police Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team, state police with the Hampden DA’s office, and assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and other partner agencies.

The investigation is active and ongoing and “may result in additional charges related to the prior shipments in Hampshire County.”