Rochester man sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine – Post Bulletin

ST. PAUL — A Rochester man was sentenced Friday to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Investigations into Panh Thavong, 51, began two years ago, shortly after he was released from prison on drug charges, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, court documents alleged that Thavong was part of a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in Rochester. A months-long investigation allowed law enforcement to identify locations and vehicles Thavong used to facilitate distribution.

In December 2022, law enforcement executed search warrants at the location and seized approximately 75 pounds of methamphetamine. Approximately 8 pounds of methamphetamine were located in the stash house, approximately 9 pounds in a rental unit, and 57 pounds in a conspiracy vehicle.

On July 20, 2023, Thavong pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

In addition to 20 years in federal prison, District Judge Eric Tostrud sentenced him to five years of supervised release.

Our newsroom sometimes publishes articles under the byline “staff.” Often, the byline “staff” is used when rewriting basic news stories from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, that require little or no reporting. Sometimes, this byline is used when a news story includes multiple authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported information from a variety of sources. If outside sources are used, this is noted in the story.