UNICOI COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A father and son were arrested after a drug investigation in Unicoi County on April 24.

According to a news release from the Unicoi County Sheriff’s Department (UCSD), Mountain City authorities reported that information from a surveillance operation found that Chance Curtis Ashley, 25, had traveled to North Carolina to buy methamphetamine to distribute throughout East Tennessee.

On April 24, a traffic stop was conducted on a car driven by Ashley near the Jackson Love exit on Interstate 26.

K-9 Diezel alerted on the odor of narcotics in the vehicle, the sheriff’s department stated.

A passenger, identified by police as Jamie Dean Ashley, 46, reportedly had more than 75 grams of a substance believed to be methamphetamine hidden in his clothing. The UCSD confirmed that Jamie Dean Ashley is Chance Curtis Ashley’s father.

A semi-automatic handgun belonging to Chance Curtis Ashley was also found inside the vehicle.

The two men were arrested and charged with the following:

• Chance Curtis Ashley
  • delivery of a schedule II controlled substance (methamphetamine)
  • possession of a fire during dangerous felony
  • unlawful possession of a firearm
  • conspiracy to sell a schedule II controlled substance
  • possession of drug paraphernalia
• Jamie Dean Ashley
  • possession of a schedule II narcotic for sale
  • conspiracy to sell a controlled substance
  • delivery of a schedule II controlled substance
  • possession of drug paraphernalia

The Mountain City Police Department, Johnson County Sheriff’s Department and the 1st Judicial Drug Task Force assisted in the investigation.