Two men from the West African nation of Gambia were stopped last Monday on Interstate 40 for following another vehicle too closely, and when Tucumcari police -- aided by a drug-sniffing dog -- took a closer look, they were arrested for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, the Quay County Sun reported.

Sheriff's Sgt. Mark Dahlsten, who had been on patrol with Tucumcari Police Officer Chris Valdez, was writing out a warning citation when he noticed "several indications of criminal activity" and a drug-sniffing dog was called in after officers asked to search the car, according to court records and a sheriff's department news release.

The dog "alerted," and after obtaining a search warrant, officers located a handgun and $118,902 in cash, in bundles that reeked of marijuana, according to court documents.

When the bundles were opened, the money had a "strong and overwhelming odoer of raw cannabis," the documents said.

Lamin Cham, 40, and Lamin Samurah, 31, were placed under arrest and booked into the Quay County Detention Center on Monday, and on Tuesday both had pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in Quay County Magistrate Court, the Sun reported.

The men signed disclaimers saying the money was not theirs, according to a sheriff's department news release. 

In April, a Tucumcari police officer stopped a male driver on I-40 and later discovered nearly $206,000 in cash, which the driver abandoned.

Tucumcari police are asking a court to keep the money, the Sun reported. 

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