Load of marijuana allegedly headed to Ross County

WILMINGTON -  A load of marijuana was intercepted in Clinton County on Monday after the sheriff’s office received information about a shipment coming through the area, and believed to be headed to Ross County.

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The Ross County Sheriff’s Office worked with the U.S. 23 Major Crimes Task Force and the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office to intercept a Dodge pick-up truck Monday carrying 131 bags of marijuana weighing approximately 160 pounds in a large container in the bed of the truck.

Two 26-year-old men from Columbus, Ryan Justin Ward and Sean Brian Lewie, were each charged with possessing drugs, a second-degree felony, and taken to the Clinton County Jail.

Mike Preston of the Ross County Sheriff's office said the package containing the drugs was picked up at a distribution center in Wilmington, and was marked for an address in Bainbridge. After the package was picked up, the Clinton County Sheriff's Office was able to make the traffic stop that lead to the discovery.

According to a press release from the Ross County Sheriff's Office, representatives of the Clinton County Sheriff's Office said marked bags contained different strains of marijuana including a high-grade type, and that the marijuana is believed to have originated at a “sophisticated growing operation.”