A traffic stop initiated by Anderson County Sheriff's Office deputies has led to a federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Sheriff Chad McBride confirmed late Monday night.

NEW:Interstate 85 traffic stop linked to possible human smuggling, ICE spokeswoman confirms

McBride said a pickup truck was stopped on Interstate 85 but said he cannot discuss what was found because the case has been turned over to federal authorities. He said the stop was not related to illegal drugs.

"We made a traffic stop, and the persons that were stopped were of interest to the feds," McBride said in a text message. "Stop was turned over to them."

Anderson, which is halfway between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia, has been the site of major crime along I-85 before now.

Last January, an Anderson man who helped operate one of the region's largest and longest-running drug trafficking rings was sentenced to life in prison.

Antonio Crawley, 40, was part of an operation that trafficked cocaine, crack and marijuana in South Carolina and reached into Georgia, Alabama, Texas and Louisiana, according to federal prosecutors. The drug ring was active from 2003 to 2016, relying in part on Atlanta-based couriers who made frequent trips to Anderson moving drugs along I-85

Crawley and a co-defendant, Eric Scott, were found guilty in November 2016 of helping to orchestrate a federal drug conspiracy. Scott was sentenced to life in prison in 2017.

At least 21 people were charged in connection to the case, and many of them entered guilty pleas. Crawley and Scott were the only ones who chose to go to trial.

Testimony at the federal trial established that people who were part of the drug operation distributed more than 100 kilograms of cocaine, more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana, more than 5 kilograms of crack, according to the United States Attorney's Office.

Anderson County's neighbor, Greenville County, also led South Carolina in human trafficking cases opened in 2017.

Speaking at a seminar on human trafficking in August, Attorney General Alan Wilson said he believes Greenville County had a higher percentage based on its connection to I-85 and the area's proximity to Atlanta and Charlotte, which he said are two cities in the top 20 areas for most human trafficking in the United States.