BRENTWOOD — A clogged toilet — allegedly full of small plastic bags — led to the arrest of a Methuen, Mass., on drug charges at a Salem motel on Sunday.

Pedro Luis Martinez-Ortiz, 33, was taken into custody by Salem police around 8:45 a.m.

A judge ordered Martinez-Ortiz held on $150,000 cash bail after questions were raised about his true identity and a criminal past that includes arrests for kidnapping and murder between 2009 and 2011 in Puerto Rico.

On Sunday morning, employees at the Red Roof Inn in Salem told police they became suspicious of Martinez-Ortiz after he asked for a new room because his toilet was clogged.

He got the new room but a motel janitor who unclogged the toilet found an assortment of small plastic bags inside a much larger one, which was backing up the plumbing, police said.

Employees told Salem police they were also concerned because Martinez-Ortiz appeared to be intoxicated or impaired.

Police went to Martinez-Ortiz new room, and saw drugs and drug paraphernalia in plain view when he answered the door. Martinez-Ortiz ran into the bathroom and tried to flush drugs down the toilet when he saw the officers, police said.

Police found a large quantities of crack cocaine, heroin and powder cocaine in the room, according to Deputy police Chief Shawn Patten. They also seized baggies, scales, a mirror and $556 in cash from the room and obtained a search warrant for Martinez-Ortiz’s vehicle, according to Patten.

Martinez-Ortiz, 33, was charged with three counts of possession of a controlled drug with intent to distribute, three counts of possession of a controlled drug, and single counts of resisting arrest and falsifying physical evidence.

In 2008, Martinez-Ortiz was sentenced to serve a mandatory three-year term in Middlesex County, Mass., on drug trafficking charges, according to Salem prosecutor Jason Grosky.

Despite that sentence, Martinez-Ortiz’s criminal history shows arrests between 2009 and 2011 in Puerto Rico, which include murder and kidnapping charges. Grosky told a judge on Monday that the outcome of the Puerto Rico cases and how they are linked to the man now charged in Salem is unclear.

Jail records also say that Martinez-Ortiz has attempted to alter his fingerprints and has at least one other known alias, Grosky said.

Judge Robert Stephen set bail at $150,000 cash only and ordered that a hearing would be held in advance of Martinez-Ortiz’s possible release to determine whether the bail money comes from a legitimate source.