NOBLE COUNTY, Ohio (WTRF) — Three Akron, Ohio-area men were arrested on felony drug charges following a traffic stop in Noble County, according to the Noble County Sheriff’s Facebook page.

At around 11 p.m. on Sept. 7, Deputy Jeff Perry stopped a sedan for equipment and traffic violations and noticed a white softball-sized item being thrown from the vehicle and into the grass.

Deputy Cory Baker and K9 Deputy Cora were then dispatched to the scene, and all of the occupants were ordered out of the vehicle. The occupants of the vehicle were subsequently identified as Rausheen Rivers (driver), Kartravion Varner (front seat passenger), and Tremaine Townsend (rear passenger).

Deputies also noticed a smell of burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle.

Deputies searched the area where the softball-sized item was thrown and found a bulk amount of suspected methamphetamine weighing more than a quarter pound. Nothing further was located inside the vehicle.

Rivers, Varner, and Townsend were transported to the Noble County Jail, where a further investigation was conducted with assistance of the Sheriff’s Narcotics Detective. After the conclusion of the traffic stop, a presumptive field test of the suspected methamphetamine was conducted.

Following multiple interviews, it was determined Rivers, Varner, and Townsend traveled from the Akron, Ohio area with the intent to sell the suspected methamphetamine.

Rausheen Rivers was charged with Trafficking In Drugs, a Felony of the First Degree.

Kartravion Varner was charged with Trafficking In Drugs, a Felony of the First Degree.

Tremaine Townsend was charged with Trafficking In Drugs, a Felony of the First Degree and Tampering with Evidence, a Felony of the Third Degree.

Sheriff Jason Mackie praises the dedicated work of deputies in combating drug trafficking in Noble County.

“This seizure of a large quantity of drugs has a significant effect on the amount of drugs on the streets in the county and the region; targeting drug traffickers has been and will remain a priority of my office.”

Noble County Sheriff Jason Mackie