Three men from Portland, Ore., have been charged with trafficking 140 pounds of marijuana from their home state to Minnesota.

Phillip W. Myers and Joshua R. Cross allegedly drove the marijuana in a rental van to Mankato, according to charges filed Thursday in Blue Earth County. The third suspect, Alexander D. Lehrer, allegedly acted as a "marijuana broker," flying to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Lehrer, 30, Myers, 37, and Cross, 39, are each charged with one count of first-degree drug sale and second-degree drug possession.

The investigation involved the Minnesota River Valley Drug Task Force, the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office Violent Crime Enforcement Team (VCET) and Mankato police.

According to the charges, a Roseville police detective working with the VCET learned that Lehrer, who had been on law enforcement's radar for transporting large amounts of cash, was flying Tuesday to Minnesota. Investigators staked out the airport and followed him to Mankato.

Lehrer was driven to the Happy Chef/Super 8 Motel in Mankato, where he and his driver met with Myers and Cross, who were in the rental van, the charges said. The two vehicles then drove to the City Center Hotel, where Lehrer, Myers and Cross spent the night.

On Wednesday, as Lehrer drove the van in rural Blue Earth County, officers stopped it and confiscated 140 pounds of marijuana. Myers and Cross were arrested at the City Center Hotel.

CHAO XIONG