Three Edgecomb residents have been charged with theft for allegedly stealing grow lights from a general store in the Kennebec County town of China then trading them for heroin hours later.

Maine State Police have been investigating the theft, which occurred three days before Christmas, and on Thursday arrested Mark James, 49, Lisa Gosselin, 40, and Tricia Barry, 42, on charges of theft by unauthorized taking, police said.

The lights, which are used to grow plants indoors, were worth more than $500 and were not recovered, police said. The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the arrests.

The three were taken to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset.