ST. PAUL, Minn. – A St. Paul man was sentenced to 156 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for methamphetamine trafficking and firearms violations, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
According to court documents, in May 2020, law enforcement began investigating Chue Xiong, 39, and his co-defendant Matthew Hines, 37, of Brooklyn Center. As part of a drug trafficking conspiracy, Xiong and Hines coordinated and facilitated the distribution of methamphetamine, as well as collected drug proceeds to send back to their supplier. On May 11, 2020, law enforcement observed Xiong leave Hines’s residence with a brown bag in his hand. Law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of Xiong’s vehicle and found approximately 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine inside the brown bag, 614 grams of methamphetamine in the driver’s side door pocket, and a 9mm handgun underneath the floor mat on the driver’s side. Xiong was also wearing a holster.
On November 19, 2020, law enforcement agents arrested Xiong outside his apartment building pursuant to a warrant. During a subsequent search of Xiong’s apartment, agents recovered an AR 223 caliber rifle, nine loaded 223 magazines, two loaded Glock model 19 semiautomatic handguns, $7,691.00 in cash, and 643.9 grams of methamphetamine.
Xiong was sentenced on May 26, 2022, in U.S. District Court before Senior Judge Donovan W. Frank. On March 30, 2021, Xiong pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Hines pleaded guilty on May 6, 2021, and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 15, 2022.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Ramsey County Violent Crime Enforcement Team, and the Minnesota State Patrol.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen A. Slaughter is prosecuting the case.