LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska sheriff says deputies have seized nearly $560,000 in suspected drug money in recent traffic stops.

The money was confiscated in three separate stops in Lancaster County.

The biggest bust came on Saturday, when a deputy stopped 31-year-old Matthew S. Crothers of Palos Heights, Illinois, and 50-year-old Jeffrey A. Larkin of Orland Park, Illinois. Authorities say a search of their pickup yielded nearly $439,000 in a spare tire and a small amount of marijuana.

Deputies also seized nearly $54,000 in a Sunday stop, and arrested 33-year-old Wing Lun Lau of Minneapolis.

On Friday, they confiscated $67,000. The sheriff says deputies arrested 21-year-old James Milton Atkinson of Mankato, Minnesota, and 22-year-old Erik Joseph Felsheim of Waseca, Minnesota.