21 October 2023
HIBBING Two people were arrested after a package addressed to “Mary Magdalene III” was intercepted by postal inspectors and found to contain more than 5 pounds of methamphetamine.
Authorities said the package was sent from a “known controlled substance source location in Southern California to a residential address in Hibbing.”
Jory Christian Sirjord, 30, of Hibbing, was taken into custody when he attempted to pick up the package on Monday, according to a criminal complaint, and a search warrant was executed at the post office to confirm the package’s contents.
A Hibbing woman who lives at the residence where the package was addressed also was detained by police. However, she was brought to a hospital for unspecified “health concerns” and has yet to be charged.
According to the complaint:
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service intercepted the package on Oct. 13 while it was en route to Hibbing. The package had been paid for in cash but the return address was not valid.
K-9 Murphy, of the Lake Superior Violent Offender Task Force, was brought to the Hibbing post office on Monday to perform a sniff of the package and four other empty boxes. He indicated the presence of narcotics in the package.
Meanwhile, a postal worker left a note at the listed address indicating the package would need to be picked up. Sirjord and the woman were seen going in and out of the apartment.
Around 4 p.m., Sirjord traveled by bicycle to the post office and picked up the package. He walked outside and was met by a Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent and other officers. He then ran back inside and was arrested.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for the package, finding five plastic containers wrapped in dryer sheets and bubble wrap. Each contained a white substance that tested positive for meth, totaling 2,282 grams, or just over 5 pounds.
Investigators went back to the residence and spoke with the woman, who claimed she thought the package contained auto parts from eBay.
After receiving authorization to search her phone, investigators found several messages exchanged with an “Aunty Linda,” who advised that a package containing “cartel promises” would be sent to the Hibbing address under the name “Mary Magdalene III.”
Discussing the need to pick up the package at the post office, the woman wrote: “Jory said he will do it if you u bail him out if they arrest him.”
“Aunty Linda” then replied: “Done. If he isn’t he wins a ball.” Investigators noted a “ball” refers to 3.5 grams of meth.
Officials said Sirjord currently has 14 pending criminal charges at the Hibbing and Virginia courthouses dating back to 2016, including felony counts of first-degree driving while impaired, second- and third-degree burglary, motor vehicle theft, fifth-degree drug possession and fleeing in a motor vehicle.
He was arraigned Thursday on a new charge of first-degree possession of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. Judge Michelle Anderson set bail at $350,000.
Sirjord’s next court appearance was scheduled for Oct. 26.
]]>