New York, South Carolina men charged with felony trafficking cocaine

Published 5:16 pm Wednesday, November 7, 2018

SALISBURY — Two men were charged with trafficking in cocaine after a vehicle stop on Interstate 85 during which a K-9 alerted officers to the presence of a controlled substance.

Rowan County Sheriff’s Officer deputies found more than 2 pounds of cocaine in the car valued at $120,000.

The stop was made Monday at Mile Marker 74 by the officers with the Crime Reduction Unit.

Deputies stopped a blue Hyundai Sonata with a South Carolina license plate for routine traffic infractions. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Clifton Jamal Harrell, 32, of Columbia, South Carolina. The front-seat passenger was Rannik Williams Dent, 34, a resident of Brooklyn, New York.

During the stop, a the K-9 conducted sniffed the exterior of the Hyundai and alerted officers to the presence or odor of a controlled substance.

Deputies conducted a probable-cause search of the car and found a small amount of marijuana in the  center console and a box in the trunk containing 2.2 pounds (1,000 grams) of cocaine.

Harrell and Dent were charged with felony trafficking in cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.

Both men were held in the Rowan County Detention Center, each under a $500,000 secured bond.

The investigation is continuing.