Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s family bodyguard was arrested last week and hit with federal drug trafficking charges after authorities found pills containing fentanyl, methamphetamine and MDMA, as well as steroids, at the home he shared with his bodybuilder wife.
Justin Salsburey, 43, and his wife, Ruthann Rankin, were taken into custody on Dec. 30, following the execution of a search warrant that allegedly discovered a trove of illegal drugs – some stashed in nicotine pouch containers – at the couple’s home, jail records and court documents show.
Salsburey was employed by a private security firm contracted by Ramaswamy’s family to provide protective services, a campaign spokesperson told The Post, noting that the family was “alarmed to hear this disturbing news.”
“Upon being informed of this matter in recent days, the outside security firm immediately removed the individual from the security detail,” Connie Luck, a spokesperson for the Republican gubernatorial candidate, said.
“Prior to employment, the individual cleared multiple background checks conducted by the security company, as well as FBI and BCI background checks, most recently conducted by OSU Medical Center in September 2025,” Luck continued.
“In addition, the security firm subjects all security personnel to pre-employment drug screenings and random drug testing throughout employment, and this individual never failed a drug screening.
“Vivek and his family take matters of safety seriously and support efforts to hold these individuals accountable for these allegations if they are proven.”
Federal authorities caught wind of Salsburey’s and Rankin’s alleged drug dealing operation in November 2025, when postal inspectors in Columbus, Ohio received information from the Logan County Ohio Sheriff’s Office that the couple “was receiving shipments of bulk narcotics,” according to an affidavit filed by an inspector.
The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) later determined that 31 parcels with postage purchased with cryptocurrency – which the affidavit notes is often the case for “shipment of items purchased on darknet marketplaces” – had been mailed to the couple’s home between Aug. 1, 2024, and Dec. 22, 2025.
A “trash pull” of the couple’s garbage turned up several empty glass vials, syringes and baggies that tested positive for the presence of fentanyl, according to USPIS.
In late November, USPIS intercepted a package bound for the couple’s home and discovered about 119 grams of blue pills “consistent with counterfeit oxycontin” which tested positive for fentanyl.
Investigators allowed multiple other parcels suspected of containing drugs to be delivered to the home of Salsburey and Rankin, and they observed the couple periodically leaving objects in a small cooler on their porch.
The objects would later be picked up by other individuals.
One individual who took an item from the cooler later told authorities that he purchased Adderall from the couple for $5 per pill.
Authorities found that the object the individual picked up from the cooler was a Zyn container with approximately 11 grams of orange pills which tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine.
A search of the couple’s home by law enforcement turned up pills containing 264 grams of fentanyl, 938 grams of methamphetamine, 19 grams of MDMA and “various other suspected controlled substances and steroids.”
Authorities also discovered a Zyn container in the cooler with meth pills and Velo (another nicotine pouch manufacturer) containers with suspected drugs inside the home.
Rankin, who is a schoolteacher when she’s not competing in bodybuilding competitions and posting videos of herself flexing online, told authorities Salsburey “started selling steroids and this progressed into selling other drugs,” according to the affidavit.
The bodyguard and bodybuilder have both been charged with conspiracy to distribute or intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a substance containing fentanyl and methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Ramaswamy holds a narrow 1-point lead over Democrat Amy Acton in the Ohio governor’s race, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average of polls.
