CONVENT — State wildlife officials said Tuesday they had arrested a person on drug charges after a stop along the Mississippi River levee in St. James Parish.

The name of the person was not released. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents say they were on patrol last Friday when they conducted a traffic stop, and that a drug-sniffing dog brought in from St. Charles Parish detected drugs in the vehicle.

Law officers say they found what was believed to be cocaine sealed within two large vehicle batteries on the rear floorboard of the vehicle. Each battery contained four compressed blocks of cocaine, the wildlife agency said.

The agents and deputies arrested the driver, seized the vehicle and also took away what is believed to be 9 kilograms of cocaine. The matter was referred to the U.S. Attorney's Office because of the amount of cocaine involved.