CARY — Wake County sheriff's deputies charged a man from Texas and two women from Georgia with methamphetamine trafficking after deputies say they found 51 pounds of the drug in the trio’s car on Interstate 40 early Friday morning.

Moises Orduno, 34, of Houston, Sandra Danissa Hernandez, 22, of Norcross, Ga., and Amall Judeth Murillo, 21, of Gwinnett, Ga., were charged with trafficking in methamphetamine and conspiracy to traffic in it.

The arrests followed a traffic stop on eastbound 1-40 near Harrison Avenue, where a sheriff’s deputy stopped a Honda Accord with Georgia plates for speeding at 12:12 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office. The deputy decided, based on “observations and experience,” to call for a drug-sniffing dog, which gave several positive alerts while sniffing the exterior of the car, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies searched the car and found about 51 pounds of methamphetamine in 16 packages, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies estimate the drugs to be worth nearly $6.9 million.

Orduno and Murillo were being held in lieu of $150,000 bail each. A magistrate had not yet set bail for Hernandez, according to Wake County Detention Center records.