On Tuesday, Bainbridge Public Safety Investigator Chip Nix received information that a vehicle carrying illegal narcotics was traveling to Bainbridge from Atlanta. The information received led to an investigative stop on a 2016 gray Dodge Journey, where three were charged with trafficking in methamphetamines, among other things.

Chief Investigator Larry Funderburke and Nix spotted the Journey traveling on Hwy. 27 and stopped it on the bypass.

As Nix approached the vehicle, he could smell the strong odor of marijuana and asked driver Bernard Watson for his license. Watson did not have a valid license and was asked to step out of the vehicle along with the other occupants.

Passengers, Marco Jackson, 39, and Tiffany Cooper, 37, exited. When Cooper exited the vehicle, Funderburke noticed a small amount of marijuana in the door handle.

Nix explained to all of them the reason for being pulled over, along with what he had just noticed and asked for consent to search the vehicle. All of the passengers complied.

During the search, officers found a hidden compartment which had been modified to conceal contraband. Inside the compartment were several bags wrapped with black tape.

One of the packages contained seven clear plastic bags containing marijuana, while the second package contained four clear plastic bags containing Ecstasy/Molly, a clear bag with 37 pills of suspected Ecstasy/Molly and 29 unknown white pills, along with a variety of other unknown drugs.

Jackson, Watson and Cooper were all charged with trafficking in methamphetamines, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and having a vehicle with false or secret compartments.