Minneapolis police seize over $1M worth of marijuana disguised as produce

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Police recovered over $1 million worth of marijuana concealed as produce at a warehouse in Minneapolis on Jan. 1.

According to the criminal complaint, Minneapolis police were dispatched to a grocery distribution center located at 2700 28th Street East after employees reported that they had located a large amount of suspected marijuana hidden inside a produce shipment from California.

"At the bottom of the containers, under the cucumbers and lettuce, there were sealed packets of marijuana a lot of it and it was ready to hit the street," Hennepin County attorney Mike Freeman.

The shipment, addressed to Steven Lee Yang, was packaged in 260 individual packages. Each contained approximately one pound of high-grade marijuana, which field-tested positive. The total weight was about 117 kilograms, or 258 pounds.

"This is not your grandfathers pot that he had in the 60's," Freeman said. "This stuff is really strong. Its bad news bears."

Yang, 26, of Brooklyn Center, was arrested by Minneapolis police when he arrived to pick up his packages at the warehouse. He's being charged with first-degree possession and sale of marijuana, which carries penalties of up to 30 years in prison and a million dollars in fines.

"This guy isn't hauling 100 kilos of marijuana to smoke it himself," Freeman said. "He is selling it to make money. This is a lot of stuff that is going to mess up a lot of people."

According to police, the seized marijuana has a street value worth from $1 million to $5 million dollars.