About $20,000 worth of marijuana won’t be distributed after Rutherford County Sheriff’s Interstate Crime Enforcement deputies confiscated the illegal drugs Wednesday on Interstate 24, said Sheriff Robert Arnold.

Suspects Exdier Ramirez and Maikel Marino, both 34 of Denver, were charged with felony possession of marijuana by Deputy Travis Perusse.

ICE Lt. Chris Haynes said Deputy Perusse stopped a Nissan 350Z driver for a traffic violation near the 85-mile marker near Joe B. Jackson Parkway where Ramirez and Marino gave him consent to search the vehicle.

“ICE deputies recovered 10 pounds of marijuana concealed in a natural void between the rear speakers,” Lt. Haynes said. “The vehicle and $622 U.S. currency was seized as well.”

The suspects told deputies they were traveling from Denver to Tampa.

They were charged and booked into Rutherford County Adult Detention Center where they are being held on $3,000. A hearing is set Aug. 26 in General Sessions Court.

Sheriff Arnold said the ICE Unit deputies do a good job enforcing criminal laws on the interstates of Rutherford County.

“The ICE officers are alert and go the extra mile to be tough on crime,” Sheriff Arnold said.