Feds say 6 men charged after tons of marijuana smuggled to Minnesota from Sacramento area

Six men from the Twin Cities were indicted in a marijuana trafficking conspiracy on Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Justice says that the trafficking operation was based out of North Highlands.

Douglas Finch, Danny William Gehl Jr., David Gehl, Frank Kittleson, Patrick Maykoski and Daniel Thomas are accused by the the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota of smuggling over 1,000 kilograms of marijuana from North Highlands to St. Paul, Minnesota, with the intent of distributing the marijuana there.

According to a DOJ statement, from 2016 through June 2021, the men sent shipping crates from a warehouse in Minnesota to a warehouse in North Highlands. The men would then allegedly fly to California, purchase large quantities of marijuana and transport it in the shipping crates on a truck back to Minnesota.

Upon returning to Minnesota, the men allegedly stored the marijuana in various storage locations in the St. Paul area, and would distribute it and sell it to customers.

Marijuana has not been legalized for recreational use in the state of Minnesota. Marijuana use, as well as the buying and selling of marijuana, has also not been legalized on the federal level.

The men’s actions were discovered after an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service.

The DOJ will prosecute the men on conspiracy to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Hollenhorst is prosecuting the case.

This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 7:40 AM.