A North Vernon man was arrested in Dearborn County on drug charges after police recovered 29 grams of fentanyl.

According to the Dearborn County Prosecutor’s office, James Watkins of North Vernon is now facing a formal charge of dealing in a narcotic drug in the incident which happened earlier this month.

Police say that on March 6th, an Indiana State Police trooper noticed a vehicle making traffic violations and passed the information on to Aurora police, who stopped the vehicle. During the traffic stop, a police dog alerted to the smell of narcotics in the vehicle and a search recovered a clear plastic bag containing a powder from under the driver’s site. It weighed 29 grams and tested positive for fentanyl at the police department.

Watkins was taken into custody and the prosecutor’s office says he faces 10 to 30 years in prison if convicted. He is set for a pre-trial hearing on May 13th.