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Man caught with nearly 900 pounds of meth pleads guilty

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Published  March 5, 2026 4:19pm CST
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 9
article

Photos from the U.S. Attorney's Office shows the meth found in Mercado-Chaparro's truck bed. (FOX 9)

The Brief

    • Guillermo Mercado-Chaparro has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine after being caught with a large quantity of meth in his truck.
    • Mercado-Chaparro was charged alongside Joel Casas-Santiago after a sting operation in south Minneapolis.
    • Between a Jeep Mercado-Chaparro was riding in and his pickup truck, authorities found nearly 900 pounds of meth, prosecutors said.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A man caught with a staggering amount of meth in his pickup truck has pleaded guilty in the drug case.

Meth bust

What we know:

The U.S. Attorney's Office announced on Thursday that Guillermo Mercado-Chaparro pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Mercado-Chaparro, a Mexican national, was charged last summer along with Joel Casas-Santiago, following a sting in south Minneapolis.

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Suspected methamphetamine seized in Minneapolis during large drug bust. (Credit: Ramsey County Sheriff's Office)

From: Facebook

The backstory:

Prosecutors say Mercado-Chaparro sold a pound of meth to an undercover officer.

After the sale, police watched Mercado-Chaparro as he made further apparent meth sales in his Toyota Tacoma. Days later, police saw Mercado-Chaparro take two large garbage bags from the truck and place them in a Jeep Wrangler.

Authorities later stopped the Jeep and found Mercado-Chaparro and Casas-Santiago inside. Prosecutors say police found about 250 pounds of meth inside the garbage bags and a cooler.

Back at his truck, police used a search warrant and found another roughly 630 pounds of meth, bringing the bust to nearly 900 pounds.

What they're saying:

After the summer bust, then-FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino put out a statement, saying "900 lbs of meth seized during two traffic stops in Minnesota yesterday, in a hit targeting drug trafficking rings you’ll hear about soon. We’re finding them and crushing their operations. More to come."

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty also said of the seizure, "The amount of illicit drugs recovered in this case is staggering. These drugs were on our streets in huge quantities and nearly made it into the hands of our neighbors who struggle with drug use. The damage 900 pounds of methamphetamine could have caused is devastating, all while funding drug sale organizations that prey on our community. We will work to hold these two individuals accountable to protect our community."

Authorities also said they believed both men were connected to a larger drug trafficking operation out of Mexico. The estimated retail value of the meth was placed at $1.7 million.

The other side:

Court records show Casas-Santiago appears set to plead guilty in the case. He has a change of plea hearing scheduled for later this month.

Crime and Public SafetyMinneapolis