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GALLIPOLIS — A Saturday night traffic stop led to the seizure of over $10,000 in cash believed to be drug trafficking proceeds.

Reportedly, at approximately 11 p.m. on Saturday, a rental car from Detroit, Michigan, was stopped by a trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol on U.S. 35 near the intersection with Ohio 850.

A K-9 unit with the Gallia County Sheriff’s Office was later called to the scene and alerted to the vehicle.

Subsequently, over $10,500 was found in the trunk of the car, and a Detroit man involved is currently under investigation for drug trafficking charges.

The case will be set for a forfeiture hearing in court.

The last reported seizure of a large of amount of cash allegedly used in the drug trafficking trade occurred in early August 2011.

In this incident, over $5,000 in cash and 140 prescription pills were seized from a residence located on Swisher Hill Road near Cheshire by deputies with the Gallia County Sheriff’s Office.

Rochelle K. Dobbins, 41, Bidwell, was arrested and was later released pending further investigation.

On August 22, 2011, in a second raid at a residence located in Bidwell, Rochelle Dobbins, as well as Megan Dobbins, 18, Bidwell, and Russell A. Mullins, 21, Vinton, were arrested.

During this raid, 22 Opana tablets, two firearms and over $2,600 in cash were seized.

Rochelle Dobbins was later charged with five counts of drug possession, five counts of trafficking in drugs and two counts of permitting drug abuse in the Gallia County Common Pleas Court.

Megan Dobbins is facing felony charges of drug possession and two counts of trafficking in drugs, while Mullins is facing charges of having weapons under disability, drug possession and four counts of possessing criminal tools.

Rochelle Dobbins and Mullins are scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday, January 18 for plea and sentencing hearings. Megan Dobbins entered a plea in her case earlier this month and is scheduled to appear on February 23 for sentencing.

The largest recent seizure of cash and drugs in Gallia County occurred in early June 2010.

In this incident, over $17,000 in cash and an estimated $2,500 in prescription drugs were seized from a residence located on Fraley Drive in the Spring Valley Area.

The seizure was the result of an ongoing investigation with the Gallia County Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit.

Following this seizure, deputies returned to the scene two days later after three suspects, Kevin Jamison, 35, Gallipolis, Ronda Jamison, 28, Gallipolis, and Ronald Morris, 61, Gallipolis, were found to be again trafficking drugs at the residence.

During this second raid, over $28,000 in cash was found concealed within a wall of the residence. A small amount of prescription drugs, marijuana and drug paraphernalia was also seized.

A fourth suspect, Elizabeth Masters, 29, Gallipolis, was arrested during the first incident but was not connected to the second. She was later charged with one count of drug possession but this charge was later dropped after the defendant cooperated in an investigation regard the other co-defendants in this case. She was assessed the court costs.

Kevin Jamison was later charged in the common pleas court with five counts of trafficking in drugs, two counts of drug possession and one count of having weapons under disability. He subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking in drugs and one count of attempted trafficking in drugs and was sentenced to a total of 30 months int he Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction in December 2010.

Morris was charged with one count of trafficking in drugs and three counts of drug possession. After pleading guilty to drug possession, Morris was sentenced to serve six months in a state prison in December 2010.

Ronda Jamison was later charged with one count of drug possession and four counts of trafficking in drugs. The defendant later agreed to be assessed the costs in this case.