The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office Violent Crime Enforcement Team and federal agents seized nearly 900 pounds of meth in Minneapolis this week.
St. Paul police, which has officers on the team, and the sheriff’s office said it may have been the largest drug bust in the state’s history.
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office Violent Crime Enforcement Team and federal agents seized nearly 900 pounds of meth in Minneapolis on July 7, 2025. (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)
If sold by the pound, the value of the meth is estimated at $1.7 million, according to criminal complaints filed against two men Tuesday by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
Law enforcement found a document in a vehicle they searched that noted dates, vehicles and dollar amounts — a suspected “drug ledger,” said the criminal complaints. The case is “associated with larger drug sale organizations in Mexico,” the complaints also said.
The enforcement targeted drug trafficking rings, Dan Bongino, the FBI’s deputy director, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday. “We’re finding them and crushing their operations,” he wrote and thanked Drug Enforcement Administration “partners for their coordination.”
Prosecutors gave the following information in the complaints:
An undercover officer bought one pound of methamphetamine in South Minneapolis from a man identified as Guillermo Mercado Chaparro, 44, of Chicago. Afterward, officers watched as he drove a Tacoma truck around South Minneapolis and made other suspected drug deals.
About 10:30 a.m. Monday, officers saw Chaparro walk to the Tacoma, which was parked on a South Minneapolis street. He then put two large bags inside a Jeep near the truck. Another man, identified as Joel Casas-Santiago, got in the Jeep.
Guillermo Mercado Chaparro (Courtesy of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office)
Both vehicles left the area and officers conducted surveillance on them. The Tacoma was located in South Minneapolis and the Jeep at 31st Street and Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis. Both Chaparro and Casas-Santiago, 46, of Minneapolis, were found in the Jeep.
“After a drug detection dog provided a positive alert to the odor of controlled substances, the Jeep was searched,” the complaints said. Officers found 251 pounds of meth inside.
Chaparro had the keys to the Tacoma and officers returned to it. A drug detection dog also “alerted,” officers obtained a warrant for the Tacoma and located about 638 pounds of meth inside. The ledger was found in the Tacoma.
After law enforcement arrested the men, Chaparro told them he was involved in drug trafficking, according to the complaints. The complaint against Casas-Santiago doesn’t say whether he gave a statement to police.
Joel Casas-Santiago (Courtesy of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office)
Chaparro is charged with two counts of first-degree drug sale and Casas-Santiago with one count.
Both men are being held in the Hennepin County jail and are due to make their first court appearances today.
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