4 Charged After 30-Pound Meth Shipment Intercepted at MSP Airport
BY MN CRIME STAFF
Four people are charged in a large-scale drug trafficking operation after a shipment of nearly 30 pounds of meth was intercepted at MSP Airport.
The package was shipped from California before being seized at the airport and used in a series of controlled deliveries across the Twin Cities.
> Sign up for the MN CRIME newsletter
According to the criminal complaints, Karisma Yamileth Aleman, 25, is accused of importing methamphetamine across state borders and first-degree sale of methamphetamine. Prosecutors say the operation involved cross-state shipments, coordinated pickups and direction from a source with a Mexico-based phone number.
Nelson Tyler Ball, 28, and Alissa Noel Denne, 23, are each charged with first-degree sale of methamphetamine.
The investigation began on Dec. 26, 2025, when officers with the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport Police Department were conducting parcel inspection at a UPS sorting facility at the airport. Investigators flagged a suspicious package shipped from California and addressed to “Venessa Aleman” at a south Minneapolis residence. Routine database checks showed the name was not associated with that address. A certified drug detection dog alerted to the parcel and officers obtained a search warrant.
When officers opened the package, they found 29.86 pounds of methamphetamine. Investigators later obtained a search warrant for the 21st Avenue South residence listed on the package and conducted a controlled delivery on Dec. 29, 2025. Most of the methamphetamine was removed and had been replaced with weighted items, though 108 grams remained inside the parcel.
Investigators watched as Aleman opened the door, retrieved the package and carried it inside the home. Officers executed the warrant and located Aleman inside a bedroom with the parcel. After being advised of her Miranda rights, Aleman agreed to speak with investigators. She admitted accepting the package and said she believed it probably contained cocaine, though she denied knowing the exact substance.
While officers were inside the residence, Aleman began receiving messages from a contact coordinating the pickup of the parcel. Investigators say the messages indicated a man was on his way to collect the drugs and pay Aleman. Officers attempted to set up an arrest but were unable to do so after a large crowd gathered outside the residence, blowing whistles and shining strobe lights toward agents.
READ MORE > Minneapolis coverage
Aleman later agreed to a second interview at the Airport Police Department and cooperated with a plan to continue communicating with the source. On Dec. 30, investigators arranged another controlled pickup, this time in the parking lot of a Target store in Richfield. The parcel, still containing a representative sample of methamphetamine, was placed inside Aleman’s unoccupied vehicle.
That evening, officers watched as a vehicle with two men arrived at the Target parking lot. The passenger, identified as Jeffrey Renier Cook, got out and approached Aleman’s vehicle. As he attempted to enter the car, officers arrested him. Investigators say Cook briefly struggled and made reaching movements toward his waistband before being restrained. A search incident to arrest turned up two bags of fentanyl weighing about 42 grams.
Cook later told investigators he had been communicating with the same source and admitted he was picking up the parcel on that person’s behalf. He acknowledged knowing the package contained methamphetamine and said he expected to be paid in drugs. Cook also admitted the fentanyl found on him was intended for sale.
Investigators confirmed Cook and Aleman were both communicating with the same Mexico-based phone number. With Cook’s consent, officers continued messaging the source using his phone. Those conversations led to another planned pickup, this time at a Super 8 hotel in Bloomington.
On Jan. 5, 2026, undercover officers staged inside a hotel room with the parcel, which still contained the small sample of methamphetamine. A short time later, a man and woman knocked on the door and confirmed they were there on Cook’s behalf. Officers arrested the pair, identifying them as Ball and Denne.
Ball told investigators he had been contacted by a drug dealer and agreed to deliver a box to help pay off a drug debt, knowing it contained drugs. He said he was supposed to receive further instructions after picking it up. Denne admitted she knew she was going to the hotel to pick up methamphetamine and understood it would be pounds.
Court records show Ball has pending cases involving controlled substance possession, cannabis possession and DWI. Cook has prior convictions for multiple controlled substance offenses, check forgery and escape from custody. Ball and Denne are currently in custody, while Aleman and Cook were charged by warrant.
Aleman is charged with importing a controlled substance across state borders and first-degree sale of cocaine or methamphetamine. Ball and Denne are each charged with first-degree sale of cocaine or methamphetamine. Aleman faces up to 35 years in prison on the importation charge, while the first-degree drug sale charge carries a maximum sentence of 40 years for each defendant. Charging information on Cook was not immediately available.
Booking photos for Aleman and Cook were not available as of publication, and they were not yet in custody.
