One Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department K-9 proved too smart forsome out-of-towners who thought they could hide a large amount ofdope in their car as they passed through Lincoln County earlyTuesday morning.

Southwest Mississippi Narcotics Agent John Whitaker said CareyHenderson, 37, and Marcus Henderson, 20, both of Covington, Ky.,and Eugene Smith, 30, of Cincinnati, Ohio, were booked into theLincoln County Jail on charges of possession of marijuana withintent to sell and conspiracy after they were pulled over on aroutine traffic stop for improper equipment. The stop happenedaround the 44 mile marker on the northbound side of Interstate55.

When Lt. Matt Springfield’s dog, Leaka, alerted him that therewere drugs in the 2007 Jeep Compass driven by Marcus Henderson, thetraffic stop no longer was so “routine.” In the back seat, wrappedin duct tape, was more than 30 pounds of marijuana.

“They had it wrapped in duct tape to conceal it from lawenforcement and to mask the smell from the K-9s,” Whitakersaid.

The bust took place around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Sheriff SteveRushing. He said any amount of drugs taken out of circulation is astep in the right direction.

“Matt did a good job on locating the drugs,” he said. “And thatgets a good bit of marijuana off the streets.”

Whitaker said it is yet unknown if the drugs were set to bedelivered locally or if the men were simply driving through thecounty.

“You never know,” he said. “We don’t know if they were stoppingor not. You never know what the next exit brings.”

Rushing said the Southwest Mississippi Narcotics EnforcementUnit will be handling the ongoing investigation.

“The drug task force is handling it as part of our joint effortsince we re-joined,” he said. “Although my office did handle thestop, SMNEU’s agents will take it from here.”