JAMESTOWN, N.D. — A traffic stop described as routine resulted in more than 198 pounds of marijuana being seized this week on Interstate 94 in North Dakota, according to the Stutsman County sheriff’s office.

Sgt. Matt Thom was on patrol on eastbound I-94 about 9:30 a.m. Monday when he saw a Dodge Grand Caravan with Minnesota license plates fail to signal a lane change about 9 miles east of Jamestown, according to court documents. He had the minivan pull over.

The driver, Mae Thao, 31, of St. Paul, and her passenger, Xang Thao, 30, of Redding, Calif., were extremely nervous, Thom said, and when he asked them individually about their travel plans, their stories were not the same. Thom said when he looked in the rear passenger compartment of the minivan he saw the entire floor was covered with blankets, and he noticed the odor of raw marijuana.

After a search warrant was obtained for the vehicle, $4,937 in cash was found in the van as well as 198.58 pounds of marijuana. Court documents state the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation and the St. Paul Police Department are also involved in this case.

Mae Thao and Xang Thao were charged in Southeast District Court in Jamestown on Tuesday with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver marijuana, a Class A felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor. Each has a $500,000 bond. Both were held in the Stutsman County Correctional Center. Related Articles Marchers shut down I-94 through St. Paul to protest Breonna Taylor decision

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Chad Kaiser, Stutsman County sheriff, said this illegal drug seizure was probably the biggest in the sheriff’s office’s history.

“It’s the biggest since I’ve been with the department, that’s for sure,” he said.

Kaiser said it is no secret illegal drugs can be found in large quantities traveling on I-94.

“The problem is those drugs may pass through here, but eventually they find their way back here,” he said.