Two residents of Southern Ontario have been charged after a traffic stop near White River

Two residents of Southern Ontario have been charged after a Northern Ontario traffic stop led to the seizure of drugs and cash.

A vehicle search led to the discovery of small quantities of suspected cannabis and cocaine as well as over $67,000 in currency, the Southeast Ontario Provincial Police – Wawa Detachment noted in a news release.

Members of the OPP were conducting a RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) checkpoint on Highway 17 in Vasiloff Township near White River earlier this month when the vehicle entered the checkpoint.

Officers noted a cannabis smell emanating from the vehicle and conducted a search.

The 25-year-old driver faces five charges, including failure to comply with release order, and remains in custody pending a bail hearing.

The other man, a 29-year-old resident of Brampton, was charged with possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and possession of a Schedule I substance for the purpose of trafficking.

He was released from custody and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice next month in Wawa.

Last year, two Ontario residents driving through Kearney, a small town in the Almaguin Highlands region of Parry Sound District, made it easy for officers when they drove through a RIDE checkpoint with more than 500 cannabis plants.

The two Markham residents were arrested and charged with possession of more than four cannabis plants (not budding or flowering), with intent to produce, sell or distribute illicit cannabis.

Not to be outdone, a 53-year-old Owen Sound man was charged in January after he drove into the back of a police cruiser in Huron County, Ont., while impaired.

The officer was helping another driver change a flat tire when the collision occurred, police said.

The driver was charged with impaired driving, distributing more than 30 grams of dried cannabis, and possession of cocaine and psilocybin for the purpose of trafficking. He suffered minor injuries while the officers and occupants of the disabled vehicle were not hurt.

The rules for transporting cannabis in a vehicle or similar to alcohol. It is illegal to do so if the cannabis is “unfastened” and not in its original packaging or if it’s not packed in baggage and is readily available to anyone in the vehicle.