19 Plead Guilty In Minnesota-Wisconsin Meth Ring

MADISON, Wis. (AP/WCCO) -- Nineteen people have pleaded guilty in a drug ring that authorities say trafficked 127 pounds of methamphetamine from the Minneapolis area to central Wisconsin communities over a three-year span.

U.S. Attorney John Vaudreuil in Wisconsin says 14 of the suspects have been sentenced, and the remaining five will be sentenced over the next two months.

Over the three years, meth was brought into Wisconsin from Minnesota on a weekly-basis, on an average of one pound a week. In 2015, demand increased and two to three pounds were brought in each week.

In all, the meth that was trafficked had a total estimated street value of $5.7 million.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Joe Kujawa was the source of supply in Minneapolis; David Vance-Bryan and Mike Kjonaas transported the meth from Minnesota to Wisconsin; Kyle Quintana, Anthony Rogers, Jacob Loose, Raul Rasmussen and Patrick Keenan sold the drugs in Wisconsin; Karen Zais, Andy Nelson, Jaimie Pankow, Chris Schmeltzer, Matt Drake, Ryan Thomas and Jonas Ellwart were customers and second-level distributors; and Danny Graap, Josh Graap and Christina Abbott were street-level distributors.

All suspects pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charges.

Altogether, the sentences total 158 years in prison.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)