Woman Sentenced for Rochester Parking Ramp Fentanyl Pill Bust

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A woman busted with thousands of fentanyl pills in a downtown Rochester parking ramp earlier this year has been sentenced.

Read More: Guilty Plea in Rochester Drug Case Involving 4500 Fentanyl Pills

In July, 31-year-old Safia Sied Mohamed entered a guilty plea to a first-degree drug possession charge in exchange for the dismissal of a drug sales charge and a misdemeanor offense. The drug bust and arrest occurred on March 28 of this year.

Court records indicate Rochester Police responded to a report of two people passed out in the vehicle parked inside the city's Second Street Parking Ramp.

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While speaking to the occupants of the vehicle, one of the responding officers spotted burnt tinfoil and a burnt straw on the floor near the driver's feet. The criminal complaint says a search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a gallon sized Ziploc bag inside the glove compartment.

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The court document says the bag contained thousands of blue M30 fentanyl pills.The investigation determined there were more than 4500 fentanyl pills in the bag, which weighed more than 530 grams.

Mohamed also gave police a fake name during the encounter in the parking ramp and that she later admitted doing so because "she has arrest warrants," the complaint says.

Mohamed/Hilowle complaint

Under the terms of the plea deal, prosecutors recommended a prison sentence meeting state sentencing guidelines. Mohamed’s defense attorney argued for a downward departure.

On Thursday, an Olmsted County judge sentenced Mohamed to a five-year stayed prison sentence. She’s also been ordered to spend a little over a month in the Olmsted County Jail.

29-year-old Abdisalan Ali Hilowle of Rochester is the other person charged in the case. He is facing the same charges filed against Mohamed and is scheduled to go to trial in November.