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A New Brighton man is facing a charge of first-degree marijuana possession after he was reportedly found with 166 pounds of marijuana in his pickup during a traffic stop on Interstate 35 north of Albert Lea.

Court documents state a Minnesota State Patrol trooper was alerted to Tenzin Minlek’s vehicle on Tuesday while working on patrol and sitting in the median of I-35 near mile marker 13. 

The trooper reportedly saw the pickup visibly slow as it passed the squad, dropping below the posted speed limit, and it had multiple large objects hanging from the rearview mirror. It also had tires extending beyond the fenders in the back, which is illegal per state statute. 

As the trooper caught up to the vehicle, he noted it was weaving to the right multiple times onto the shoulder line with both right-side tires. 

The trooper tried to pull the pickup over, but the vehicle was slow to do so and did not immediately yield to the emergency lights. Court documents state the tailgate also appeared to have been tampered with.

Once the pickup pulled over, the trooper observed the two males in the truck both had freshly lit cigarettes, which is commonly done to mask odors of contraband when contacted by law enforcement, the criminal complaint stated. Air fresheners were also in the driver and passenger side air vents, and there were open chili pepper packs on the passenger side floor. 

Both men avoided eye contact, and the driver — identified as Minlek — was shaking from his chest area. 

Court records state the trooper asked Minlek to exit the vehicle and speak with him. He reportedly “was visibly nervous and stammered and paused when asked simple questions about his travels and who the passenger was to him.” His story changed multiple times, and when the trooper spoke with the passenger, his story contradicted Minlek’s story. 

Minlek reportedly denied knowledge of illegal items in his vehicle, but admitted to having a THC vape pen in the vehicle on the passenger floor. 

When a K-9 was deployed on the vehicle, the dog alerted to the glove box inside the vehicle. Inside the glove box, troopers found multiple cigar packages with a rolled marijuana joint and raw buds of field positive marijuana. 

The entire back of the truck under the topper was full of vacuum-sealed packages of suspected marijuana.

Minlek reportedly admitted the marijuana was his and that the passenger had nothing to do with it. He said there was 175 pounds of marijuana that he paid $130,000 for. 

Troopers found the vehicle had 166 packages of marijuana that were each one pound.

Freeborn County District Court Judge Ross Leuning set Minlek’s conditional bail at $75,000. He is next slated to appear in court May 5.