Man arrested, charged after airport police stop package containing 3 pounds of meth
Jorge Corrales-Aragon (Credit: Benton County Sheriff's Office)
A man is in custody after airport officials helped to uncover over three pounds of methamphetamine sent to Minnesota from Mexico.
Jorge Corrales-Aragon, 24, has been charged in Benton County with two counts of first-degree controlled substance crimes for his alleged connection with the drug discovery.
On Feb. 1, law enforcement with the Metropolitan Airport Police Department notified members of the Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force (VOTF) about a suspicious package they had intercepted addressed to Rice, Minnesota containing 3.285 pounds of methamphetamine.
A detective with the Metropolitan Airport Police Department disguised himself as a UPS delivery person and brought the package to the address on the 1400 block of 115th Street northwest, according to a criminal complaint.
A man, later identified as Pedro Ramirez-Corrales, retrieved the package from the disguised officer and said it was for him.
The VOTF executed a search warrant on the home a few minutes later and found Ramirez-Corrales, Corrales-Aragon and two other men inside, according to the complaint. The methamphetamine, multiple cell phones, and receipts for money orders showing funds being sent to Mexico were recovered from the home.
The complaint noted one of the cell phones was receiving calls from Sinaloa, Mexico, which the complaint says is a known source of methamphetamine.
All four men were arrested and brought to Benton County Jail.
Law enforcement spoke with Corrales-Aragon, who told them Ramirez-Corrales is his father’s cousin and the two of them had previously been in California together. He said he knew the package contained methamphetamine from Mexico, adding he tried to hide it when law enforcement came to the house.
Ramirez-Corrales also spoke with law enforcement and admitted to knowing the package contained methamphetamine from Sinaloa, Mexico. He also told officials he owed a person in Mexico money and believed the methamphetamine would take care of it.
Ramirez-Corrales was arrested but has not yet been charged, according to court records.
Corrales-Aragon is due back in court on March 21 at 2:30 p.m. for an omnibus hearing. If convicted of both charges, Corrales-Aragon faces up to 60 years in prison and a $2 million fine.