A total of 52 suspected drug users were arrested during a "sell-bust" operation coordinated by four Essex County law enforcement agencies which used undercover police officers posing as drug dealers, officials announced yesterday.

County Prosecutor Herbert H. Tate said undercover agents acted as dealers and "conducted sales of imitation drugs" on four street corners in Newark and two in Orange during the past week.

Robert Scarillo, the deputy director of the sheriff's Bureau of Narcotics, said his officers did not initiate the sales, but posed as dealers in areas known for high drug activity. "People would come up and give the look or ask," explained Scarillo.

Most of the "dealers" were fitted with body microphones, and there was a visual surveillance of all transactions, officials said, explaining the purchasers were arrested about a block and a half away by back-up teams.

Among those arrested were 20 Newark residents. The balance were from suburban towns in Essex County, Roselle, Lodi, Cranford, Colonia, and as far away as Willingboro and Richmond, Va.

The suspected drug users represented a cross-section of the labor force, including hospital medical technicians, quality control inspectors, machine operators, construction workers, factory workers, a chef, a salesman, a bus aide, a fireman and a plumber, officials said.

Tate said a woman driving in a car with her four children was also among those arrested. He said she was released immediately after the arrest and allowed to return home with her children.

The alleged purchasers were charged with attempting to possess a controlled dangerous substance. Tate explained it is a third degree crime, which carries a maximum penalty of 3 to 5 years in prison and a fine of $7,500.

The prosecutor said the "sell-bust" operation is part of the state Attorney General's action plan against narcotics abuse.

Sheriff Thomas J. D'Alessio said the operation "sends a message out that the next time you buy drugs, you may be buying it from a law enforcement officer, and you will be arrested."

The other lawmen participating in yesterday's press conference were Claude Coleman, public safety director for Newark; Charles Cobbertt, the Orange police director; Charles Knox, director of the bureau of narcotics, and Undersheriff Armando Fontoura.

This is the second time a "sell-bust" operation was conducted in Essex. The first arrests of this type were made in October 1987.

Tate said the undercover officers operated in Newark on Chancellor Avenue and Wainwright Street; Orange and 14th streets; along 17th Avenue, and at 6th Avenue and 9th Street.

Cobbertt said in Orange, the sell-bust was conducted on William Street.

Many of those who were arrested spent a night in jail before posting bail.

Tate said 11 cars also were confiscated. The loss of a car is a civil penalty Tate believes should act as a deterent against involvement with illicit drugs. A person convicted for drug possession can also face loss of driver's license for a year and an additional penalty of a $1,000 fine, according to Tate.

He said most of the attempted purchases were cocaine, but several buyers also sought heroin and "hits," which consist of two pills, one Emperin and one Doriden.

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