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The Frederick County Sheriff's Office seized more than 2 pounds of cocaine and arrested five people on drug charges Friday after a traffic stop on Interstate 70 in New Market.

Two of the men arrested were found to be in the country illegally, according to Cpl. Jennifer Bailey, spokeswoman for the Sheriff's Office.

Bailey said the Frederick County Narcotics Task Force was working with the Frederick Police Department's Drug Enforcement Unit and received a tip about several men distributing a large amount of cocaine.

Officers set up surveillance near the intersection of routes 144 and 75, and saw two suspected vehicles in the McDonald's parking lot there. The vehicles, a red pickup truck and red Yukon, left the parking lot, and headed west on Interstate 70, Bailey said.

According to Bailey, Detective First Class Jeffrey Null saw the driver of the pickup truck follow another vehicle too closely, make an unsafe lane change and ignore a traffic control device, so he stopped the truck.

Null learned that the driver, Rosendo A. Montoya-Paz, 34, of Manassas, Va., was driving on a suspended license, so he arrested him, Bailey said.

Deputies searched the vehicle with the help of a K9 unit, and found 512.9 grams (1.13 pounds) of cocaine in the center console and another 515.2 grams (1.13 pounds) under the right rear passenger seat.

Deputies seized the cocaine and arrested the passengers, Jose F. Paz, 22, of Nokesville, Va., and Arturo Enriquez-Gonzales, 26, of Glen Burnie.

Meanwhile, Detective First Class Jeff Eyler stopped the second vehicle, the red Yukon, on I-70 at Bowman's Farm Road for following another vehicle too closely.

Bailey said that due to the deputies' and officers' observations during the operation, and the fact that the pickup truck and Yukon were traveling together, the driver, Masiel Burgoa-Serrano, 30, of Manassas, and passenger, Sergio A. Duranarechiga, 29, also of Manassas, were arrested.

The charges are as follows:

Rosendo A. Montoya-Paz: driving on a suspended license; possession of cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; possession of cocaine large amount; and conspiracy to distribute cocaine;

Arturo Enriquez-Gonzales: possession of cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine; possession of cocaine large amount; and conspiracy to distribute cocaine;

Jose F. Paz: possession of cocaine; possession with intent to distribute cocaine; possession of cocaine large amount; and conspiracy to distribute cocaine;

Masiel Burgoa-Serrano: conspiracy to distribute cocaine;

Sergio A. Duranarechiga: conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

According to Bailey, deputies at the Frederick County Adult Detention Center have determined that Sergio A. Duranarechiga and Arturo Enriquez-Gonzales are Mexican citizens and are in the United States illegally.

Deportation procedures will begin once local charges have been adjudicated, she said.