WINONA, Minn. – A Burnsville man arrested Thursday in an elaborate drug transport scheme denied knowing anything about it. After his arrest Rafael Rosales Lopez told police interrogators that he was in town to see a girlfriend, according to the criminal complaint. The arrest produced 22 pounds of cocaine, fentanyl and meth. Lopez was arrested in the Super 8 parking lot where a second vehicle had been parked for a drug transfer. Police watched as he walked over to the parked vehicle and opened the door. Inside were the drugs. Lopes explained that the vehicle looked like his girlfriend’s Honda and that he had expected her at the hotel.
Drug transit details
Here is a timeline for what transpired, according to the criminal complaint and other sources:
> Agents of a California drug lord paid $15,000 to two mules to drive the 22-pound load to a pre-arranged transfer at the Super 8 parking lot in Winona.
> The mules drove separate cars in tandem, at some point picking up Interstate 90 for Winona.
> A state trooper stopped one of the cars near Worthington in southwest Minnesota, apparently for a traffic violation. The driver of the second car pulled over too.
> The trooper discovered the drugs and called for backup.
> One of the California drivers confessed to being hired to drive the drugs to Winona. He said also that the person who hired them was tracking their trip on GPS.
> Both drivers were detained in Worthington.
> The Southeast Minnesota Violent Crime Enforcement Unit in Rochester scrambled to organize a sting.
> An officer in Worthington was assigned to drive the drug-loaded car in street clothes to the Winona transfer point. This was a 3-1/2 hour trip.
> A team of 15 officers was dispatched on the ground to surveil the Super 8 lot as unsuspiciously as possible and to prepare to block exit routes. A State Patrol helicopter was put in the air to stand by for any eventuality.
> The California car arrived at the Super 8, and the undercover Worthington cop walked away, leaving the door unlocked.
> An hour later Rosales Lopez arrived. He was arrested opening a door of the California vehicle.
> Apparently the California drug bosses who organized the delivery scheme were unaware of the bust. GPS on the mule vehicle showed everything on course and on schedule.
If convicted
In court in Winona judge informed Rosales Lopez that, if convicted, he could spend 30 years in prison and be fined $1 million.
Sting agencies
The sting operation included the Southeast Minnesota Violent Crime Enforcement Unit, the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the State Patrol, the Winona County sheriff’s office, and Winona police.