Federal prosecutors have secured their first guilty plea from an alleged drug smuggling ring they say mailed pills of fentanyl hidden inside stuffed animals.

Cornell Montez Chandler Jr. (Courtesy of the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office)

Cornell Montez Chandler Jr., 25, of St. Paul, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul to conspiracy to distribute the drug.

Eight others from the Twin Cities have pleaded not guilty to the same charge. Federal authorities say the defendants were involved in mailing fentanyl from Arizona to Minnesota from August 2022 to Dec. 14, 2023.

The charges followed the seizure of 280,000 fentanyl pills that were sent in six packages through the U.S. Postal Service from Phoenix to the Twin Cities metro area. Authorities called the fentanyl seizure, which amounted to 66 pounds with an estimated value of over $2.2 million, the largest ever in Minnesota.

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, just 2 milligrams of fentanyl can kill a person.

“With this seizure, we know that hundreds, if not thousands of lives have been saved,” Washington County Sheriff Dan Starry said in January, when charges were announced. The investigation involved law enforcement from Washington, Dakota and Ramsey counties, along with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations.

Disguised as birthday presents

Authorities say six people are jailed and charged in U.S. District Court in St. Paul in connection with the seizure of 280,000 fentanyl pills — described as the largest fentanyl seizure in state history — that were sent from Arizona to the Twin Cities metro area in stuffed animals between August 2022 and December 2023. A joint investigation between local and national agencies led to the seizure of over 66 pounds of counterfeit fentanyl pills with a combined estimated value of over $2.2 million. (Courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office)

According to his plea agreement, Chandler admitted he flew to Phoenix to buy fentanyl from one or more suppliers and that he and others mailed packages through the U.S. Postal Service to the Twin Cities for distribution. He also admitted they had mailed other packages that were not seized to the Twin Cities and that the pills then were passed to others for further dealing.

The drug ring disguised the stuffed animals as birthday presents and lined them with dog treats in an attempt to prevent drug-sniffing dogs from alerting them, the plea agreement says.

Federal prosecutors have agreed to pursue a prison term for Chandler of no more than 15½ years. He remains at the Sherburne County Jail ahead of a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

Chandler’s co-defendants are: Quijuan Hosea Bankhead, 30; Amaya Tiffany-Nicole Mims, 23; Fo’Tre Devine White, 30; Robiel Lee Williams, 24; all of St. Paul; and Shardai Rayshell Allen, 25; Stardasha Christina Davenport-Mounger, 24; Da’Shawn Natori Domena, 24; and Phyu Win Jame, 27, of Minneapolis.

Minnesota had 1,002 opioid-involved overdose deaths in 2022, according to the state Department of Health, and fentanyl contributed to 92 percent of them.

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