Photo Provided The Belmont County Sheriff’s Department seized the cash, drug instruments and 16 grams of crystal methamphetamine shown here during a stop Friday. The department’s new drug-sniffing dog reportedly detected the substance.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Belmont County Sheriff’s Department’s new drug-sniffing dog has been at work for less than a month and is already earning his kibble.

Xyrem, the department’s Belgian Malinois, reportedly helped locate a large quantity of crystal methamphetamine in the early morning hours Friday. Chief Deputy James Zusack said two men were arrested as a result, and one is facing significant drug charges.

Zusack said deputies pulled over Corey Ullom, 43, of Bridgeport and passenger John Gonchoff, 25, of Moundsville for a traffic violation in the Bridgeport area along National Road. Zusack said criminal indicators were observed during the traffic stop, and Xyrem was called to the scene. Upon arrival, the dog showed positive indications regarding the presence of narcotics in the vehicle.

“Our guys are trained to pick up on stuff that doesn’t seem right initially when they stop a person — how they act,” Zusack said.

Zusack noted that deputies recovered 16 grams of crystal meth, commonly referred to as “ice,” with a street value of $2,000. Money and drug abuse instruments were also recovered. Zusack said the exact amount of money has not been counted, since the report is not yet complete.

Gonchoff was arrested on charges of possession of drugs and trafficking in drugs, both felonies of the second degree, and possession of drug abuse instruments, a second-degree misdemeanor. Ullom was arrested on charges of operating a vehicle under the influence, a misdemeanor of the second degree.

“The one was arrested for OVI, but the other one has felony drug charges,” Zusack said, adding that the drugs confiscated represented a larger amount of crystal meth than deputies usually find in Belmont County. “For crystal meth, that’s a pretty good amount. … This was just a really good stop. The guys did a good job.”

He said this was the third traffic stop this week where drugs and cash were seized, although this was the only instance where crystal meth was found. Marijuana was seized in one stop, along with a large quantity of money. He said the stops were not concentrated around any one area.

“We got more drugs off the streets,” Zusack said.

Xyrem began working for the department in late November, thanks to donations from local businesses XTO Energy and Frio Capital Group. Frio funded the purchase of the specialized dog, while XTO paid to retrofit a cruiser to accommodate him.

The Belmont County Sheriff’s Department has three other dogs in its K-9 unit that are used to search for drugs as well as a bomb-detecting dog that was given to the department by Homeland Security.