A man faces charges of drug sales and possession after a raid Monday of his house and a south Minneapolis jewelry store led to the seizure of more than 42 pounds of methamphetamine and $45,000 in drug proceeds, authorities say.
Josue Felix Catano-Morales, 35, is being held at the Hennepin County jail in lieu of $250,000 bail following his arrest Monday. Catano-Morales, who has not yet been assigned an attorney, is expected to make his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon.
On Monday, officers raided a house in the 3100 block of 18th Av. S. and found 42.5 pounds of meth in large black garbage bags stashed in Catano-Morales' bedroom closet, prosecutors say. The haul could have fetched nearly $400,000 on the streets, according to recent court filings.
Catano-Morales said at the scene that the drugs were his and that no one else in the house was involved, police said.
"He is being given direction regarding what to do with the narcotics from a phone number that is a verified Mexican phone number," an investigator wrote in the charging document.
He also allegedly directed them to a jewelry store on E. Lake Street, where he said they would find about $45,000 in proceeds from drug transactions, which were recorded in a ledger, according to prosecutors. Police seized both the money and the ledger.
Last year, authorities noticed a resurgence of meth trafficking, with cheaper, more potent versions of the drug flooding the state through a sophisticated distribution network run by Mexican drug cartels, operating far beyond the reach of local law enforcement.
Libor Jany • 612-673-4064 Twitter:@StribJany
