A controlled drug delivery in Brooklyn Center ended with a man in custody after he allegedly picked up a parcel that had contained more than two pounds of fentanyl shipped from California.
The arrest happened Feb. 20 after Airport Police officers conducting parcel interdiction at a UPS sorting facility in Maple Grove identified a suspicious package addressed to a home in the 5300 block of France Avenue North.
Prosecutors have charged Jasihel Guadalupe Guerrero Arciniega, 19, with first-degree sale of fentanyl and importing a controlled substance across state borders. The most serious charge carries a potential sentence of up to 40 years in prison, while the importation charge carries a maximum penalty of 35 years.
According to a criminal complaint filed earlier this week, officers observed several indicators consistent with narcotics trafficking on a parcel shipped from Riverside, Calif. A drug detection dog alerted to the package and investigators obtained a search warrant. Inside, authorities discovered approximately 2.16 pounds of fentanyl, the documents say.
Investigators then arranged a controlled delivery to the residence and got a search warrant. Officers removed most of the narcotics, leaving a representative sample inside along with a tracking device designed to alert investigators when the parcel was opened.
Surveillance teams watched as a woman answered the door and brought the package inside the home. A short time later, Guerrero Arciniega arrived in a vehicle. Investigators say he entered the residence and moments later the tracker indicated the parcel had been opened. He was then seen leaving the home carrying the package, placing it in his vehicle and driving away.
Officers stopped the vehicle and arrested him. During a search, investigators recovered the parcel along with two cellphones, a Mexico voter ID and a Mexico driver’s license issued under another name. According to the complaint, Guerrero Arciniega admitted the license was a fake alias.
While being held at the airport police facility, investigators say he asked to call his mother on speaker phone before taking the phone off speaker and placing another call to a man using a Mexico-based phone number. Guerrero Arciniega later told investigators the man was the friend who asked him to pick up the parcel.
After being advised of his rights, prosecutors say Guerrero Arciniega admitted he previously traveled to Minnesota from Mexico in 2023 to sell drugs, a statement investigators say was consistent with information already known to law enforcement.
Jail records show Guerrero Arciniega remains in custody as of publication, with bail set at $250,000 without conditions or $100,000 with conditions. His next court appearance is set for March 25.
