A tip led Canadian County Sheriff’s deputies Friday to arrest two men and seize an estimated 70 pounds of suspected marijuana at Sundance Airpark in Oklahoma City.

The tip was received by newly appointed Undersheriff Ed Grimes, leading members of the sheriff department’s new drug response unit to converge on the airpark. Deputies said a canine unit indicated the presence of drugs on a single-engine plane, and deputies obtained a warrant to search the aircraft. They found a substance believed to be marijuana secured in bundles and $8,000, Sheriff Randall Edwards said.

Two men, Robert Michael Musselman, 33, of Phoenix and Cory Patrick Huffstetler, 24, of Flagstaff, Ariz., were arrested by deputies who were assisted by agents from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Edwards said the two men were held on complaints of possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and were released Saturday from Canadian County Jail after posting $7,500 in bail each.

Edwards said he would not release the airplane’s manifest, saying DEA officials have requested they not do so as the investigation is ongoing.

All items seized in the arrests are being held as evidence, and Edwards said the suspected drugs would eventually be destroyed. Edwards said he hopes to one day see the seized items sold at auction and the use the proceeds to fund drug enforcement activities. Edwards said it could take up to two years before the proceeds from the sale of the items are released to his department.

Edwards said any funds from the case will go back into county coffers to finance another drug dog and vehicles that will be used by unit members.

“We estimate the value of the aircraft at about $100,000, and we plan to sell the plane and fund the sale of two Tahoes for use by our unit,” Edwards said. “By using the money from the drug cartels, we are charging the ones bringing the drugs into our county — it just makes good sense they should be the ones to pay for our efforts in catching them.”

Edwards said the sting was the first action for the drug response unit he formed. Grimes will head up the unit, which will work with city, state and federal agencies to counter drug activity in Canadian County, he said.

“It just goes to show what can happen when people work together,” he said.