Apple Valley man charged in drug smuggling operation

An Apple Valley man has been charged in connection to what officials called one of the largest drug busts in Dakota County history.

The Dakota County Attorney’s Office said 34-year-old Alphonse Latrese Herron, Jr., is charged with three counts of first-degree aggravated controlled substance crime.

A criminal complaint states agents with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension made plans to buy five pounds of methamphetamine from Herron through a confidential informant on Thursday.

An undercover agent drove the informant to the meeting spot in Apple Valley while other agents conducted surveillance on Herron, the complaint states. Agents saw Herron leave his home, drive to a storage unit and then head to the prearranged meeting spot.

When Herron arrived, he parked near the vehicle the informant was in. The complaint states the informant then got out of the vehicle, talked to Herron and gave him $5,000 in cash, packaged to look like $20,000, which was the prearranged price. Herron then gave the informant five pounds of suspected meth and left, the complaint states.

Minnesota State Patrol troopers stopped Herron a short distance away. During a search of Herron and his vehicle, the complaint states authorities found $5,000 in cash and two cellphones. His home was also searched, and agents found electric money counters, suspected marijuana and around $10,000 in cash.

A search warrant was also executed at his storage unit, and agents found:

• About one pound of suspected cocaine,
• Nine pounds of meth,
• Three pounds of fentanyl,
• About 6,300 pressed pills suspected to contain fentanyl,
• A pistol,
• Around $140,000 in cash.

The drugs are still undergoing testing at the BCA.

The complaint states Herron admitted to selling a lot of meth, adding that he buys it from California. Authorities said they believe it’s part of a large illegal drug smuggling operation from California.

Herron made his first court appearance on Friday and had his bail set at $1 million without conditions. The attorney’s office said the Department of Corrections also has a hold on Herron based on a 2017 conviction in Hennepin County, meaning even if he posted bail, he’d still go to prison for the time being.

His next court appearance is set for March 10.