WILDWOOD – A narcotics-sniffing police dog helped find drugs during a motor vehicle stop in the city on Saturday, Jan. 27, leading to two arrests.

The Police Department reported that at 8:57 p.m. that day detectives from the department’s Detective Division stopped a suspicious vehicle near the intersection of Youngs and Pacific avenues.

During the investigation, the vehicle’s occupants, Jason Popplewell, 38, of Villas, and Kelly Phillips, 39, of Wildwood, were detained after the detectives observed them engaging in suspected narcotics activity a few minutes earlier at an undisclosed location.

A K-9 officer from the Wildwood Crest Police Department was requested, and police said the dog responded positively for the presence of narcotics inside the vehicle. Police then found distribution quantities of suspected cocaine and methamphetamine, and a scale used to weigh narcotics, in the vehicle.

Popplewell and Phillips were both charged with second-degree possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine within 500 feet of a public place; second-degree possession with intent to distribute cocaine within 500 feet of a public place; second-degree possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; third-degree possession with intent to distribute cocaine; third-degree possession of methamphetamine; third-degree possession of cocaine and third-degree possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of school property. They also were charged with possession of prescription legend drugs and failure to turn over narcotics to law enforcement, both disorderly persons offenses.

Phillips was released on a summons complaint. Popplewell was incarcerated at the Cape May County Correctional Center.