Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Jury Convicts Fifth Defendant in Minnesota Meth Trafficking Network

Prosecutors tie the Minnesota operation to the Sinaloa Cartel, citing links to Sureños street gangs.

Overview

  • Eric Anthony Rodriguez, 47, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute after a six-day federal trial before Judge Susan R. Nelson.
  • Prosecutors say the Diaz-Aguilar organization operated across Minnesota from April 2024 to March 2025, at times moving hundreds of pounds of meth into the state.
  • Investigators seized about 60 pounds of meth, roughly 1,500 fentanyl pills and more than $20,000, and raided stash houses in Columbia Heights, Hastings and Rochester.
  • Erick Emilio Diaz-Aguilar, identified by prosecutors as the leader, and co-defendants Juan Martin Elvira Jr., Edward Gonzalez and Bruce Michael Orton previously pleaded guilty.
  • Trial evidence included a November 2025 stop that recovered three pounds of meth from Rodriguez’s vehicle, and the court will set his sentencing at a later date.