Lakeville Man Charged with Selling 'Large Amounts' of Methamphetamine

A Lakeville man has been charged with felony drug possession after authorities say he sold large amounts of methamphetamine in Dakota County.

Rezgar Taha Muhammed, 33, faces four felony counts of first-degree drug sales, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

According to the criminal complaint, agents with the Dakota County Drug Task Force were told earlier this month by a confidential informant that Muhammed was selling “large amounts” of methamphetamine.

The complaint notes that task force agents were familiar with Muhammed, whom they call a “very well-known name” among authorities for selling methamphetamine.

The informant was given $1,600 in “buy funds” on July 7 and made arrangements to meet with Muhammed and buy the drugs. Muhammed told the informant that he was going to go home, then meet the informant in West St. Paul and turn over the methamphetamine.

That afternoon, agents saw Muhammed pull into a parking lot in West St. Paul and hand the informant a cigarette pack, inside of which was a plastic bag containing 20 grams of methamphetamine.

A week later, an informant told drug task force agents that arrangements had been made to buy 2 ounces of methamphetamine from Muhammed for $3,500.

Muhammed told the informant to pick him up on the border of Burnsville and Savage, and they would go to another place to pick up the drugs, according to the complaint.

Task force agents on surveillance saw the informant pick up Muhammed in the vicinity of County Road 42 and Glendale Avenue in Savage, then drive to a home in south Minneapolis, where Muhammed got out of the car, went into the house, came back out and got back into the car with the informant.

Agents stopped the car a few blocks later. As they approached the car, they saw Muhammed reach down toward his feet; they got him out of the front passenger seat and onto the ground, where he was handcuffed and arrested, the complaint says.

Agents found three bags of suspected methamphetamine on the floor of the car and $650 in Muhammed’s left pants pocket, the complaint says. The serial numbers on the money matched those on the pre-recorded buy funds given to the informant.

The bags were taken to the St. Paul crime lab. The drugs inside totaled more than 2.5 ounces of methamphetamine, according to the complaint.

Muhammed’s criminal record in Minnesota includes a conviction for drug sales in Dakota County in 2005, and a conviction for selling drugs in Hennepin County in 2008.

Muhammed is free on an $80,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled for Aug. 1 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.