MINNEAPOLIS — A man is facing two felony drug charges after the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Police Department intercepted a package containing nearly 5 lbs. of fentanyl last week.

According to court documents, on Halloween, officers were doing parcel interdiction at a UPS shipping facility at the airport when they spotted a “suspicious parcel” from San Bernadino, California, addressed to an Uptown Minneapolis apartment building on the 2300 block of Garfield Ave. They say the parcel didn’t include a unit number and was only addressed to the initials A.H.M. instead of a full name.

A drug detection dog then conducted a sniff test and provided a positive alert, prompting officers to obtain a warrant to open the parcel. That’s when they found the nearly 5 lbs. of fentanyl. 

This is positive news to Dr. Alta DeRoo, the chief medical officer for addiction treatment organization Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

“Even though we are on the treatment side, we hear a lot from folks about how they get their fentanyl or how it became an issue for them,” DeRoos said. “Often, it is this illicit fentanyl that comes in through our ports of entry.”

Five lbs. is a little over 2 kg, and DeRoo says 1 kg of fentanyl is enough to kill 500,000 people.

“If it’s 2 kg, that’s almost a million people that have been saved by this interception of these drugs,” she said.

DeRoo says fentanyl is typically pressed into pills and falsely sold as other drugs such as Adderall. It’s also cut into cocaine and marijuana, she says.

Court documents say the morning after the parcel was discovered, undercover cops conducted a “controlled delivery” by placing the parcel on the apartment’s front steps and waiting to see who would collect it. However, the parcel contained a smaller sample of 106 grams of fentanyl.

Sure enough, a man later identified as Eduardo Santillan-Rivera, 24, got out of a black sedan and picked up the parcel. On his way back to the car, officers detained him.

Charging documents say Santillan-Rivera first said he was trying to steal the package but later admitted he was getting paid to move the package by a Mexican drug trafficking organization, and that it wasn’t his first delivery. Rivera also reportedly indicated a desire to return home to Mexico.

The 24-year-old is currently in Hennepin County Jail on a $200,000 bond. He had his first court appearance this week and his next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 25.

“Kudos to the Minneapolis Airport Police that intercepted this,” DeRoo said. “I mean, that’s just such a huge gift to our community.”

EAGAN, Minn. — The Eagan Police Department is increasing its patrols after multiple sexual assaults were reported to the department in the same area. 

The latest assault occurred on Thursday morning when a woman was attacked while walking alone on the trail in Lebanon Hills Regional Park, said the police department. 

“Law enforcement has limited suspect information, so we are encouraging community members to travel with someone else and be vigilant while using the Lebanon trail system and contact law enforcement if you see anything suspicious,” said the release.

The police said a similar attack occurred on Sept. 7, but the victim in that case was able to escape.

According to the release, the department is actively working on both cases.

MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis nonprofit WIRED has already made a huge impact on the community in its two years of operation and shows no signs of slowing down now.

On Dec. 12, the organization will hold its biggest event of the year, WIRED to Give, a fundraising opportunity to connect with and support woman-run and -led businesses in the Twin Cities. 

WIRED founder Jen Lindahl stopped by KARE 11 News at 4 to talk with anchor Rena Sarigianopoulos about what to expect and who the event will benefit.

For more information about WIRED, click here. For more information about the WIRED to Give event, click here.