Feds: International drug ring flooded Twin Cities with methamphetamine

A federal grand jury in Minneapolis has indicted a dozen members of an international drug organization on charges of trafficking in methamphetamine and marijuana, U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said Wednesday.

Half of those indicted are from St. Paul and the east Twin Cities metro area.

J. Michael Netherland, special agent in charge of Homeland Security investigations, said the multi-agency investigation, which included the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments, "dismantled a dangerous drug trafficking organization responsible for flooding the Twin Cities with methamphetamine."

Netherland, who is based in St. Paul, said his agency "will continue to partner with other federal, state and local agencies, not only to stem the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States, but also to intercept and seize the illicit proceeds being funneled out of the United States."

Each of the defendants was charged with one count each of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and marijuana and multiple counts of selling the drugs and money laundering "at least since August 2011," according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Five defendants are from St. Paul: Felix Velazquez-Garay, 41; Arnaldo Enrique Almendarez, 40; Aundray Lindsey, 36; Cesar Daniel Molina-Carranza, 31; and Magedaleno Perez-Arenas, 36. A sixth, 24-year-old Eduardo Penaloza-Romero is from Spring Lake Park, Minnesota.

A search warrant affidavit released by Luger's office said the Penaloza organization used an auto repair business, Auto Laser, at 8301 Sunset Road NE in Spring Lake Park as a front for narcotics trafficking. The document said law enforcement observed signs that meth was stored at the business park.

Last August, officers recovered 10 pounds of methamphetamine from a vehicle they stopped which prosecutors believe was en route to Auto Laser from California. Intercepted calls seemed to show members of the Penaloza organization also collected "drug related proceeds."

The indictment said the Minnesota branch of the Penaloza organization was connected to others in Chicago, Fresno, California and Zihuatanejo, Mexico. The largest amount of drugs, 16.5 kilograms of methamphetamine and 2.8 kilograms "of a mixture and substance containing detectable amount of marijuana" were trafficked by the Californian, Eleuterio Izazaga-Pascacio, 48, authorities said.

Luger credited the arrests to cooperation between local police, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Homeland Security. All are part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.

"Criminals in Minnesota continue to be stymied by the coordinated effort of federal and local law enforcement," Luger said in a statement. "It is a credit to their hard work and dedication that another international drug trafficking organization is under indictment today."