A federal jury has convicted Carl Maurice Brown, 32, for his role in a large-scale drug trafficking operation that moved fentanyl and methamphetamine from Chicago to Duluth, Minnesota. The verdict follows a three-day trial in St. Paul and was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson.
Brown was among several individuals indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2024. The indictment included Ezell Cordero Lucas, also known as “Cash,” who led the organization, along with Brown and others charged with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine. While six other defendants, including Lucas, have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, Brown chose to go to trial and was found guilty.
“This conviction closes the book on a dangerous fentanyl trafficking ring that pumped poison into northern Minnesota from Chicago,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. “Fentanyl has devastated families and communities across our state, and this case is a powerful reminder: we will not let drug traffickers exploit our cities or our rural communities. We are grateful to the federal, state, and local partners whose tireless work dismantled this network and helped protect Minnesotans from the lethal fentanyl epidemic.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between December 2021 and February 2024, Ezell Lucas managed what authorities described as the “Lucas drug trafficking organization” based in Chicago. The group transported significant amounts of fentanyl to Duluth for distribution in the Twin Ports region. Lucas coordinated with local distributors in Duluth to build a customer base there and directed associates—including Brown—to travel from Chicago to manage operations locally.
Lucas remained in Chicago while handling calls from customers seeking drugs in Duluth, then instructed them where to meet his dealers for transactions. Over two years of investigation, law enforcement seized more than 890 grams of fentanyl and 262 grams of methamphetamine from the organization during 19 separate seizure events that included controlled purchases, traffic stops, search warrants at residences, and an incident related to an overdose death.
Brown faces up to life imprisonment at sentencing.
The investigation involved multiple agencies: the Duluth Police Department; Saint Louis County Sheriff’s Office; Lake Superior Violent Offender Task Force; and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Garrett S. Fields and Syngen Kanassatega prosecuted the case.
