A routine traffic stop in Covington County Tuesday led to a group of Butler County spring breakers being arrested on drug charges.

Taylor Allen Stinson, Michael Clark Dunn, Robert Andrew Gafford and Faith Dantzler were each arrested and charged with possession of marijuana, first degree, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

“They were headed from Greenville to Panama City Beach, Fla., for spring break, and when we walked up to the vehicle I could smell the odor of marijuana,” said River Falls Police Chief Greg Jackson. “I asked the female about the marijuana and she said they had smoked all of it. We began a probable cause search of the vehicle and found 18 bags of marijuana in the center console.”

Covington County Sheriff Dennis Meeks said that Covington County law enforcement agencies are approaching 200 drug-related arrests during the month of March as travelers make their way to the beaches for spring break.

“In just the last two weeks, the sheriff’s department and the different municipalities have made over 150 arrests and taken around $100,000 of narcotics off the streets,” Meeks said. “They have done a really good job, and they all deserve a pat on the back.”

Meeks said an interesting aspect of the up-tick in arrests is that almost all of the incidents have stemmed from traffic violations.

“I don’t think any municipality is really setting up road blocks,” he said. “It’s little things that lead to arrests. We had a guy throw a bottle out of a car. We stopped him for littering, and it turned into a marijuana arrest.”