Police arrested Jeffrey William Kortman, 59, of Millersburg, on Aug. 16 when they found three loaded handguns, ammunition, drug paraphernalia, a large quantity of crystal methamphetamine, and alprazolam — a drug that can cause paranoid or suicidal ideation and can lead to death — in his pickup truck as Kortman left a Tower residence where police suspected drug activity.

Police found one of the pistols in a box of dog treats and another — along with a quantity of meth — hidden in a first aid kit under the truck’s passenger seat, according to D/Lt. Kenneth Mills, unit commander of the Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement team, which led the arrest.

When police later searched the Tower home, they found two more weapons, also loaded, along with meth and other narcotics. They arrested the resident of the home, Michael Allen Boughner, 56, who faces nine drug and gun charges, including intent to deliver meth.

In addition to intent-to-deliver and other drug possession charges, Kortman faces multiple charges of possession of a firearm by a felon and two habitual offender gun-possession charges.

Courtesy Photo Methamphetamine and drug pipes found in conjunction with the arrest of a Millersburg man on drug and gun charges last week are seen in this photo provided by Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement.

The Huron Undercover Narcotics Team and the Presque Isle County Sheriff’s Office, as well as Cheboygan County police and state troopers, assisted with the arrests.

In recent years, northern Michigan police are discovering more firearms in conjunction with narcotics arrests, according to Mills.

Meth distributors want the weapons, as well as surveillance cameras installed on an increasing number of homes where drugs are sold, not as protection against police but out of paranoia and as a defense against the other people dealing and using meth, Mills said.

Courtesy Photo A pistol found in a box of dog biscuits in a pickup truck with a Millersburg man arrested on drug and gun charges last week is seen in this photo provided by Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement.

4 Courtesy Photo A quantity of crystal meth found in conjunction with the arrest of a Millersburg man on drug and gun charges last week is seen in this photo provided by Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement.

Courtesy Photo A pistol found in a toolbox in a Tower home after the arrest of a Millersburg man on drug and gun charges last week is seen in this photo provided by Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement.

Courtesy Photo Jeffrey William Kortman, left, and Michael Allen Boughner as shown in photos provided by Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement.