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900-pound meth case investigated by St. Paul officers draws federal charges

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Two men recently charged in Hennepin County in a 900-pound meth case have now been federally indicted, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota said Thursday.

St. Paul police investigators led the initial investigation and the men were ultimately arrested in Minneapolis earlier this month.

“This isn’t just another drug bust — it’s one of the largest methamphetamine seizures in Minnesota history,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joe Thompson. “A 900-pound haul like this doesn’t just show intent to distribute. It shows intent to poison entire communities. We will not let Minnesota become a distribution hub for cartel-scale operations. This prosecution is just the beginning.”

The Minnesota Homeland Security Task Force investigated and prosecuted the case as part of Operation Take Back America, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Joel Casas-Santiago, 46, and Guillermo Mercado-Chaparro, 44, are both federally charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Mercado-Chaparro is also charged with illegal reentry by a removed alien.

One of the St. Paul investigators who worked on the case is a member of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office Violent Crime Enforcement Team and the other is a Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer. With the VCET and federal agents, they carried out the arrests.

The investigators had information that some of the drugs were going to be delivered to a St. Paul address. They found the main suspect’s vehicle in Minneapolis and were able to keep working the case.

An undercover officer bought a pound of meth from Mercado-Chaparro, who was driving a Toyota Tacoma truck, according to court documents. Through surveillance, law enforcement learned that Mercado-Chaparro was driving in South Minneapolis for suspected drug deals.

Several days later, police saw Mercado-Chaparro walk to the Tacoma, get two large garbage bags from the truck bed and put them in a nearby Jeep Wrangler. Law enforcement stopped the Jeep, Casas-Santiago and Mercado-Chaparro were ordered out of the vehicle, and more than 250 pounds of meth were found in the garbage bags and a cooler.

Police arrested Casas-Santiago and Mercado-Chaparro and obtained a search warrant for the Tacoma. They searched the truck and seized more than 630 pounds of meth from the truck bed.

If sold by the pound, the value of the meth was estimated at $1.7 million, according to the previous criminal complaints filed by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. The case is “associated with larger drug sale organizations in Mexico,” the complaints also said.

Casas-Santiago’s attorney for his Hennepin County case declined comment. Mercado-Chaparro’s attorney could not immediately be reached Thursday.

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