YOUNGSTOWN — A police dog sniffed out 44 pounds of suspected cocaine during a traffic stop, no sweat.

A state trooper noticed during the traffic stop on Interstate 76 in Milton Township that a driver was sweating profusely despite the cold temperature outside and the apparent lack of heat in the car.

On Wednesday, a drug-trafficking complaint filed in U.S. District Court against Benjamin O. Ledezma, 38, was transferred to a federal grand jury after a hearing.

Ledezma was arrested Sunday and placed in the Mahoning County jail after troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol found 44 pounds of suspected cocaine in his vehicle.

A trooper had stopped Ledezma for driving about 50 mph in a 70 mph zone, making several quick lane changes and driving over the edge line, according to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint. When the trooper spoke to Ledezma, he said he was trying to make a cellphone call.

Ledezma did not have an Ohio driver’s license, only a Mexican identification card, and said he was traveling to complete a drywalling job. The car was registered to a Cincinnati drywalling company.

The trooper called for a police dog to be brought to the scene, and the dog indicated the smell of narcotics in the rear of the car.

Troopers found two brick-shaped objects of suspected cocaine in the cargo area of the vehicle. Another 16 brick-shaped packages of suspected cocaine were found in the spare tire under the vehicle.

Ledezma was arrested and taken to the Mahoning County jail.

U.S. attorneys filed a complaint in U.S. District Court on Monday accusing him of intent to distribute a controlled substance.

During an initial hearing Tuesday before Magistrate Judge Carmen Henderson, the magistrate judge determined that Ledezma would benefit from having an interpreter and reset the hearing for Wednesday.

At that hearing, Ledezma waived preliminary and detention hearings, and Henderson ordered Ledezma to remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.