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Brooklyn Center Man Gets 6 Years For Smuggling Marijuana

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Brooklyn Center man received a six year prison sentence Friday for smuggling marijuana from California in a produce shipment.

According to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, 27-year-old Steven Yang will serve 74 months for his role in the illegal transport of more than 100 kilograms of marijuana.

Yang pleaded guilty Oct. 12 to a count of first degree sale of 50 kilos or more of marijuana. A second count of first degree possession was dismissed as part of a plea deal.

The criminal complaint states police were called to a warehouse in Minneapolis on New Year's Day when employees discovered a large amount of marijuana hidden inside a produce shipment addressed to Yang.

Police arrested Yang when he arrived to pick up the shipment.

Inside the shipment, police found 260 packages, each with a pound of marijuana inside. The street value of the drugs would be around a million dollars, according to the complaint.

Yang's attorney said the 27-year-old is a hardworking man who was driven to commit this crime by poverty and poor judgment.

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