Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Rochester Police Department says officers arrested a man who attempted to flee a drug arrest over the weekend. 

Police Captain Casey Moilanen said officers were dispatched to the Valhalla Apartments in the 500 block of 19th St. Northwest shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday. Witnesses reported a man behind the wheel of a vehicle in the parking lot was nodding off with tinfoil on his lap. 

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Officers arrived and identified the man as 28-year-old Abdisalan Hilowle of Rochester. Moilanen said officers found a clear baggie containing a white substance in his hand and burnt tinfoil on his lap. 

Hilowle. Olmsted County ADC
Hilowle. Olmsted County ADC
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Police say Hilowle began exiting the vehicle as officers instructed him to put his hands on the steering wheel. He then fled northbound on foot but was chased down and arrested a short distance from the vehicle officers found him in, Moilanen said. 

Hilowle was brought to the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center. Moilanen said Hilowle dropped several M30 pills that are often laced with fentanyl as he fled police. 

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Rochester Police Dept/TSM. File Photo
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The substance found in the baggie in his hand was determined to be nine grams of cocaine, Moilanen said. Police recovered 124 of the M30 pills and a digital scale at the scene. 

Hilowle was booked into the jail on suspicion of second-degree drug sales, third-degree drug sales, obstructing the legal process and possession of drug paraphernalia. Court records indicate Hilowle has previous convictions of third-degree drug sales and third-degree drug possession. 

His first appearance in Olmsted County Court has not yet been scheduled.

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