IOWA CITY, Iowa — A judge has told two Minnesota residents they’ll have to ask federal authorities to return the $48,000 seized by Iowa City officers during a traffic stop in March.

The Iowa City Press-Citizen saidDistrict Judge Mitchell Turner made the ruling Wednesday on the application submitted by Tiffani Barber and Kearnice Overton, of St. Paul, Minnesota.

Johnson County prosecutor Susan Nehring says the money is part of a federal investigation and was seized by the officers at the request of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Civil forfeiture laws permit officers to seize money and property of people suspected of crimes.

Overton says in court documents that Barber gave him the money to buy property from Overton’s cousin in Rock Island, Illinois. Overton says the money was not connected to criminal activity.