Cartel Drug Courier Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Transporting 5,368 Heroin Pills

TUCSON - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced Sergio Ramon Chavez will spend 14 years in prison for transporting 5,368 heroin pills across Southern Arizona. Chavez, 41, was found guilty of 3 felony charges including Transportation of Heroin for Sale, Illegally Conducting an Enterprise, and Conspiracy to Transport Heroin for Sale during a trial last month.

In February 2017, a Department of Public Safety Trooper attempted to stop a black Mercedes near El Con Mall. Chavez jumped out of the car to run from troopers, leaving behind a McDonald’s bag that contained 5,368 heroin pills with a street value of $53,000. A trooper found Chavez hiding in the bushes of a nearby apartment complex. Chavez told troopers the cartel was paying him $1,500 to pick up and deliver drugs.

Chavez also had prior convictions for Aggravated Assault in 2000 and Child Abuse in 2011.

Assistant Attorney General Nanette Morrow prosecuted this case in the Arizona Attorney General's Office Southern Arizona White Collar and Criminal Enterprise Unit.

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