SALYERSVILLE, Ky. — A Magoffin County sheriff’s deputy who stopped to help stranded motorists ended up taking the car’s occupants to jail on drug trafficking charges instead.

The deputy was patrolling along Route 114 around 2 a.m. Sunday, when he spotted a car on the side of the road with a woman walking around it. He turned around to offer assistance, then noticed a man sitting in the car when he got back to it.

While talking to the occupants of the car, identified as Roger Chaney Jr., 48, and Maria Yates, 50, both of Morehead, the deputy spotted a bag containing an orange substance on the ground next to the car. A search of the car revealed a box disguised as part of the driver’s seat which had 10-to-12 grams of meth inside, along with various types of drug paraphernalia.

Chaney and Yates were arrested on meth trafficking and a number of lesser charges. Both are being held in the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center in Paintsville.