Man Pleads Guilty for Conspiracy to Distribute 900 Pounds of Methamphetamine and Illegal Reentry

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Mexican national who was in the country illegally has pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen. According to court documents, Mercado-Chaparro sold a pound of methamphetamine to an undercover police officer. Police followed Mercado-Chaparro after the buy and saw him conduct other drug deals. Several days later, police saw Mercado-Chaparro retrieve two large garbage bags from his pickup truck and place them in a nearby Jeep. Police stopped the Jeep a short time later, and a drug-sniffing dog alerted the odor of drugs in the Jeep. When police searched the Jeep, they found roughly 250 pounds of methamphetamine in the garbage bags and a cooler. Police then obtained a search warrant for Mercado-Chapparo’s truck, searched it, and seized roughly 630 more pounds of methamphetamine from the truck bed. Altogether, Mercado-Chaparro possessed almost 900 pounds of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.