EAST GRAND FORKS — Several arrests have been made in connection of M30 fentanyl pill distribution in the Grand Cities area.
Joseph "Jojo" Redding,Minnesota, Summer Allery, Grand Forks, Stephanie Hageman, Grand Forks, and Shaun Cole, East Grand Forks, have been arrested for charges ranging from third-degree murder to possession of fentanyl and fentanyl distribution.
According to a press release from the East Grand Forks Police Department, on April 19 the Pine to Prairie Drug Task Force and Grand Forks Narcotics Task Force executed arrest warrants in the Grand Cities area for first-degree controlled substance distribution and third-degree murder.
These arrests are the first round in a series of charges resulting from long-term investigation into the distribution of lethal M30 fentanyl pills.
In January, the East Grand Forks Police Department responded to a report of a deceased individual who "appeared to have been poisoned by a blue M30 pill." The ensuing investigation was ongoing when EGFPD responded to a non-fatal overdose on Bygland Road Southeast in East Grand Forks in February.
ADVERTISEMENT
According to police, the source of the pills was determined to be a group from Chicago and Minneapolis who had been sending "multiple distributors to Fargo and the Grand Cities area on a rotational basis; as one would get arrested, others would fill their spots."
To date, law enforcement has seized over 1,400 fentanyl pills, which have been selling for $40-$60 each for a street value of approximately $80,000, the release said.
Additionally, on April 20 Abdulahi Abdulkadir Farah, Minnesota, Mohamed Abdulgani Ahmed, East Grand Forks, and Jaocb Gabriel Brunelle, Grand Forks, were arrested after the P2P and GFNTF executed a search warrant at 316 Fourth St. NW where two individuals were actively selling M30 fentanyl pills, police said. More than 800 pills were seized along with $2,000 in cash.
Farah is being charged with first-degree sale of controlled substance, second-degree possession of controlled substance and failure to affix tax stamp.
Ahmed is being charged with first-degree sale of controlled substance, first-degree conspiracy to commit controlled substance crime, second-degree possession of controlled substance and failure to affix tax stamp.
Brunelle is being charged with first-degree conspiracy to commit controlled substance crime, third- degree sale of controlled substance and fourth-degree driving while impaired of a controlled substance.
According to the press release, the increased distribution of M30 fentanyl pills have kept law enforcement in the region busy responding to overdoses. The pills bearing the imprint "M30" have resulted in recent multiple overdoses and deaths in the Grand Forks-East Grand Forks area.
The investigation is ongoing and more arrests and charges intend to be made in the future.
