AHOSKIE – An early morning check by officers of the Ahoskie Police Department led to a drug arrest Wednesday morning.

Ahoskie Sgt. Tyrone Ruffin and Officer Johnnie Hoggard were doing business checks at approximately 6:40 a.m. and came across a vehicle parked at a business on Academy Street, according to Ahoskie Police Chief Troy Fitzhugh.

“When they checked on the vehicle, they asked the occupants to step out,” he said. “The officers could see one of them had pill bottles coming out of his pockets.”

Upon investigation, the officers found the bottle had another individual’s name on them and that led to three counts for Claude Herman Loyd, 38, of Truxton Street in Chesapeake, Virginia. He was charged with two counts of possession with intent to sell and deliver and schedule 2 controlled substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Loyd was placed in the Hertford County Jail under $60,500 secured bond and made his first appearance Friday.

“I want to commend the officers for being alert,” Fitzhugh said. “We have had several businesses express concerns because of incidents in the past and they were alert and active which paid off in this case.”

The pills that were recovered from Loyd were sent to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Lab. Further charges are pending once the results are returned.