Waubun Man Arrested with $36,000 of Fentanyl

Wadena County Sheriff Michael D. Carr reports that on Tuesday, September 20th 2022, a Wadena County Sheriff’s Deputy was observing traffic near the City of Verndale. The deputy observed a vehicle speeding and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle.

During the course of the traffic stop, the deputy observed indicators of criminal activity, and K9 Nitro was brought to do a sniff on the exterior of the vehicle.

Nitro alerted to the presence of narcotics and a search of the vehicle was conducted.

During the search, approximately 362 grams of suspected Fentanyl was located in the vehicle.

The driver, John Gordon, 32, of Waubun, MN was arrested and booked into the Wadena County Jail.

Wadena County Attorney Kyra Ladd charged Gordon with 1st Degree Controlled Substance
Crime, a felony punishable by up to 40 years in prison. Gordon appeared in Wadena County
District Court on Thursday, September 22nd, where cash bail in the amount of $15,000 was
placed on Gordon to be released. The Wadena County Sheriff’s Office was assisted on the
investigation by the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force. The street value of the Fentanyl is
believed to be approximately $36,000.