A Dukes county grand jury returned indictments last week against a former state probation officer who faces cocaine trafficking charges and two Oak Bluffs men who have been charged in connection with robbing an elderly Island man of his life savings.

Former Massachusetts probation chief Milton L. Britton was arrested by state police in March and charged with cocaine trafficking. Mr. Britton, 65, lives in Oak Bluffs. At the time of the arrest he was found with three small bags of cocaine in his pocket while exiting his home. A subsequent search of his residence turned up additional cocaine that police said was prepared for distribution in individually-wrapped cellophane bags.

In separate cases, the grand jury returned indictments against Daniel A. Ben David, 48, and Stanley J. Johnson, 50, both of Oak Bluffs, for breaking and entering in the nighttime and larceny of property over $250. Mr. Ben David and Mr. Johnson were both arrested and arraigned in district court this spring after an elderly Oak Bluffs man was robbed of about $85,000 that he had stored in a safe in his home. Both men later confessed to the crime, although at the time all the money was not recovered. Mr. Ben David has also been charged with malicious destruction of property. Mr. Johnson was also indicted on a charge of unarmed burglary.

The three cases will now move from district court into Dukes County Superior Court to be heard. The superior court sits formally twice a year, in the fall and again in the spring. Other special sessions are scheduled periodically.

The grand jury is scheduled to convene again on August 23 to consider possible new indictments.