Groton — State police arrested two Rhode Island men during a traffic stop Wednesday on Interstate 95 after they found 29 kilograms of cocaine, worth nearly $3 million, in their vehicles.

Arnulfo Hiciano, 33, of North Providence, R.I., was charged with failure to maintain established lane, possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to sell.

Giovanni Carmona, 31, of Providence, R.I., was charged Wednesday with failure to maintain established lane, possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to sell.

Neither had previous charges beyond traffic violations, according to the Rhode Island Department of Justice website and Nexis online database.

Troopers from Troop E in Montville were patrolling in the area near Exit 88 in Groton, where state Department of Transportation vehicles were mowing.

They spotted a Nissan Maxima and a Dodge Ram weaving through traffic and stopped both vehicles.

During the stop, troopers asked Hiciano for permission to search his car with K-9 Albert, who detected narcotics in two boxes the trunk.

Hiciano claimed the boxes in the trunk were not his, and troopers said they found 29 individually wrapped kilogram packages of cocaine inside.

The cocaine has a street value of $2.9 million, the police said in a release Wednesday night.

Hiciano told troopers that he was working with Carmona, who was driving the truck.

Both were taken into custody.

Troopers seized the cocaine, both vehicles and $5,472 in cash.

Hiciano and Carmona are each being held on $100,000 bond. They are scheduled to appear in New London Superior Court Thursday.

a.hutchinson@theday.com