Feds Indict 2 Men in One of Minnesota’s Biggest Drug Cases

Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News) - A federal grand jury has returned indictments in connection with a drug seizure that has been described as one of the largest in state history.

The Office of the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota says 46-year-old Joel Casas-Santiago and 44-year-old Guillermo Mercado-Chaparro are both charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Mercado-Chaparro is also charged with illegal reentry by a removed alien.

According to court documents, an undercover police officer in the Twin Cities arranged to purchase one pound of methamphetamine from Mercado-Chaparro. It was noted that he was driving a Toyota Tacoma pickup during the drug deal.

The charges say investigators—through post-buy surveillance—learned that Mercado-Chaparro had been driving the vehicle throughout south Minneapolis to conduct alleged drug deals.

Federal prosecutors say that several days later, police saw Mercado-Chaparro retrieve two large garbage bags from the truck bed and place them in another vehicle. Law enforcement eventually stopped that vehicle, and Mercado-Chaparro and Casas-Santiago were ordered out of it.

Inside, investigators found more than 250 pounds of methamphetamine in the garbage bags and inside a cooler. That led to a search warrant for the Toyota, where more than 630 pounds of the drug were found in the truck bed.

“This isn’t just another drug bust—it’s one of the largest methamphetamine seizures in Minnesota history,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph H. 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.”

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A news release on the indictment says the case was investigated by the Minnesota Homeland Security Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the Ramsey County Crime Enforcement Team, the St. Paul Police Department, the Minneapolis Police Department, and the Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force.

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