Two men appeared in court Wednesday after they were indicted by a federal grand jury and arrested on drug charges.

Sherman  L. Griffin, 35, of Martins Ferry,  and Anton Drake, 32, of Wheeling, were indicted on cocaine charges earlier in December.

Both were arrested on Wednesday at separate locations in the Ohio Valley, U.S. Attorney  William  J.  Ihlenfeld II said in a news release on Thursday.

Griffin was named in a five-count indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine and four counts of distribution of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a protected location.   

If convicted, Griffin faces 5-40 years in prison and a fine of $2 million on the conspiracy charge and 1-40 years on each of the distribution charges.  The government is also seeking to forfeit a Chevrolet Tahoe from Griffin and to obtain a $200,000 money judgment against him.

Drake was named in a one-count indictment charging him with distribution of cocaine.  If convicted, Drake faces up to 20 years in prison and $1 million fine.

Griffin and  Drake  appeared before  Magistrate Judge  James  Seibert  for their arraignments and both were released on bond, Ihlenfeld said in the release.

The cases will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John C. Parr and were investigated by the Ohio Valley Drug & Violent Crime Task Force, consisting of officers from the Wheeling Police Department, the Ohio County Sheriff’s Department, the West Virginia State Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration.