Traffic stop leads to drug bust

NEW CASTLE, Ind. (WISH) - A traffic stop in Henry County led to a Kentucky man’s arrest after police said he was found with several thousand dollars worth of stolen over-the-counter medication.

Monday, Hancock County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Nicholes Ernstes, with the Pro-Active Criminal Enforcement team, stopped a Chevrolet Trailblazer westbound on Interstate 70 at the 126-mile marker, south of New Castle. Suspicious of further criminal activity, another PACE team officer, Sgt. James Goodwin, with the Henry County Sheriff’s Department, and his police dog conducted a sweep of the vehicle, and the dog indicated the presence of a narcotic odor.

Officers then searched the vehicle and found several packages containing several thousand dollars worth of over-the-counter medication in a large trash bag inside the vehicle. Some of the medication was found to be stolen from a CVS pharmacy in Richmond, and police said other pharmacies throughout the Midwest may have also been sources for the stolen medicine.

The driver, Sami Elias, 54, Lexington, Ky., was arrested on a preliminary charge of theft – receiving stolen property, a Class D felony.

He was being held in the Henry County Jail.

PACE Team Officer David Glover of the Richmond Police Department also assisted.