Chino Woman Arrested on Indictment Alleging Fentanyl and Heroin Trafficking Operation through Southern California Airports

           LOS ANGELES – Federal authorities today arrested a San Bernardino County woman on an indictment charging her with recruiting drug couriers to smuggle pound quantities of fentanyl and heroin through Southern California airports for transport to other parts of the United States.

          Chavon Sayles, a.k.a. “Amber,” 28, of Chino, was arrested this morning at her residence. She is expected to be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles.

          A federal grand jury indictment returned on March 16 charges her with one count of conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl, and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

          According to the indictment, from June 2018 to March 2019, Sayles and other co-conspirators recruited drug couriers to transport heroin and fentanyl through Hollywood Burbank Airport, Long Beach Airport, and Ontario International Airport to Ohio, Oregon, and elsewhere in the nation. Sayles allegedly contacted the couriers the night before the flight, and then booked their flight.

          The couriers would then receive a bag containing concealed pound quantities of drugs, and they would be responsible for checking it in at the airport, the indictment alleges. In June 2018, a co-conspirator, for whom Sayles allegedly purchased a plane ticket the night before, checked a bag intended for delivery to other co-conspirators in Ohio containing 6.5 pounds of heroin at Hollywood Burbank Airport. In July 2018, Sayles allegedly picked up another co-conspirator and dropped her off at Long Beach Airport with 6.6 pounds of fentanyl in her luggage for a flight to Dayton, Ohio.

          In January 2019, Sayles allegedly told one co-conspirator via text to get ready for a short trip from Ontario International Airport to Portland, Oregon the next day, and to “make sure you bring a lot of stuff your bag has to look so full it’s going to bust.” The co-conspirator later checked into the airport with a bag containing 3.2 pounds of heroin, the indictment alleges.

          An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

          If convicted of all charges, Sayles would face a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

          Other co-conspirators, including Tatijana Bell, 27, of San Bernardino, and Keeshanai Monique Wilcher, 27, of San Bernardino, have pleaded guilty to federal narcotics charges in connection with this case. Wilcher is serving a 31-month prison sentence for her role in this drug trafficking operation.

          Homeland Security Investigations investigated this matter.

          Assistant United States Attorneys Jehan M. Pernas of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section, and Morgan J. Cohen of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.