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Case originated with tip from MSP Airport Police

 

A Blooming Prairie man has entered pleas to eight felony drug charges in a case that began with a tip from Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Police in early February.

Dylan Jeffrey Okorie, 22, pleaded not guilty to a chain of drug charges ranging from drug sales to possession Thursday in Mower County District Court. The two heftiest counts include a pair of first degree drug possession charges with intent to sell a hallucinogen over 100 grams.

Convictions on those two counts alone could mean no less than 65 months in prison up to 40 years in prison with the possibility of a $1 million fine.

According to the court complaint, Austin police received a tip on Feb. 8, from a member of the MSP Airport Police that they had in their possession a package that contained a large amount of marijuana and 30 psilocybin mushroom candy bars, after a canine had indicated the presence of drugs.

On Feb. 9, an undercover officer — using a delivery truck and uniform — effected a controlled delivery of the package at 9:37 a.m. in the 1400 block of Ninth Avenue NW, marking it as delivered on a tracking system. Nobody answered the door at the residence and so the package was left on the doorstep.

About 30 minutes later, surveillance observed a vehicle pull up to the driveway with two subjects, who then exited the vehicle. A male subject picked up the package and took it inside the residence. 

Moments later the individuals left the residence carrying a backpack. Police made contact in the driveway and provided a male subject with a search warrant for the residence. 

The male told police he didn’t know what was in the package, but later indicated that it likely contained marijuana before explaining that the package was sent to a friend, Okorie, who lives in Blooming Prairie.

While telling police that he was not provided tracking information, the male alleged that Okorie told him that the package would be coming soon and that Okorie was also a marijuana dealer.

The court complaint goes on to say that the male told police that Okorie would be arriving after work in a BMW.

Okorie arrived at approximately 4:58 p.m. to retrieve the package and was tailed by police, eventually being apprehended on Seventh Avenue NW.

After Okorie told police that he didn’t know what was in the box, a search of his vehicle turned up 331.2 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, 2.0 grams of THC wax, two digital scales and the package, which in turn included 543 grams of marijuana, 30 psilocybin candy bars and one THC candy bar. This is in addition to the 2,633 grams of marijuana confiscated earlier in the bust.