Was there a big drug bust in minneapolis a few days ago
Executive summary
Yes — in the last week federal and local law enforcement executed multiple high-profile drug enforcement actions in the Twin Cities area that officials and court filings tie to the seizure of hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine and broad indictments; those actions sparked protests and conflicting official narratives about whether immigration enforcement or a long-running narcotics probe was the primary driver [1] [2] [3].
1. The core claim: hundreds of pounds of meth, federal raids in the Twin Cities
Federal court filings and local reporting connect a recent round of law‑enforcement actions across the Twin Cities to a seizure of roughly 900 pounds of methamphetamine discovered in a Burnsville storage unit, and investigators executed search warrants at eight locations last week as part of that narcotics, money‑laundering and related investigation [1] [2] [3].
2. Scope and significance: “one of the largest” meth seizures in Minnesota’s recent history
Federal prosecutors and law enforcement have characterized the 900‑pound seizure as among the largest meth hauls in state history, and the case produced federal indictments alleging conspiracy to distribute hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine — a scale that officials say justifies multi‑agency raids [3] [1].
3. Overlapping operations and political messaging: ICE surge versus narcotics investigation
At the same time that narcotics warrants were being executed, the Department of Homeland Security publicly touted a separate surge of immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, characterizing hundreds or more arrests of “criminal illegal aliens” as part of an “Operation Metro Surge”; DHS and allied outlets emphasized arrests for violent and sexual crimes and drug trafficking, creating a powerful but overlapping narrative that blurred the lines between immigration enforcement and the targeted drug probe [4] [5] [6].
4. Community reaction: protests, confusion, and demands for warrants
The Twin Cities raids set off protests and alarm in neighborhoods, in part because residents feared ICE raids and militarized tactics; demonstrators and some families demanded judicial warrants and greater transparency after armed federal agents used a battering ram in at least one Minneapolis arrest — critics and local advocates pointed to heavy-handed tactics even as officials insisted the actions were tied to the drug trafficking investigation [7] [2].
5. Local law enforcement activity around the state: separate drug arrests and task‑force work
Beyond the Twin Cities multi‑site federal actions, regional law enforcement continued routine and lengthy narcotics investigations: a Northland operation resulted in 24 arrests in a gang‑related drug probe, and a Moorhead investigation led to two arrests for alleged use of short‑term rentals to distribute meth — illustrating that multiple, separate drug enforcement efforts were active across Minnesota during the same period [8] [9].
6. What the reporting does and does not prove
Reporting from the Justice Department, KARE11 and the Minnesota Reformer directly link recent Twin Cities raids to the 900‑pound meth seizure and federal indictments, which supports the conclusion that there was indeed a “big drug bust” connected to that seizure [3] [1] [2]. However, some official DHS messaging framed a broader immigration‑enforcement surge that included arrests tied to a variety of crimes, and that political framing complicates public understanding; sources provided do not establish that every high‑profile arrest in Minneapolis in the last few days was part of the same drug probe, nor do they settle community complaints about tactics and warrants [4] [7] [2].
7. Bottom line
A major narcotics investigation tied to the seizure of about 900 pounds of meth triggered federal raids and indictments in the Twin Cities within the last week, and those actions, together with a concurrent DHS enforcement surge and separate local drug operations, produced the impression of widespread recent “big drug busts” across Minnesota — but reporting also shows contested public debate over the use of force, immigration versus narcotics priorities, and whether messaging from federal agencies conflated separate enforcement streams [1] [3] [4] [7].