Employee of LAX Service Provider Charged in Federal Complaint with Possessing 11 Kilograms of Fentanyl in Men’s Bathroom at Airport

LOS ANGELES - An employee of a service provider working at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and a fellow South Bay resident have been arrested and charged in a federal criminal complaint with possessing a bag containing approximately 11 kilograms (24.3 pounds) of fentanyl in an airport bathroom, where it was to be taken and transported on a Minnesota-bound flight, the Justice Department announced today.

Miguel Angel Tuz-Noh, 24, of Lennox, who works at LAX, and Anthony Olvera, 23, also of Lennox, are charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

Both defendants were arrested on August 19 and made their initial appearances on August 21 in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. A federal magistrate judge ordered each of them released on $10,000 bond.

According to an affidavit filed with the complaint, Tuz-Noh is an LAX employee whom law enforcement believes has ties to a drug trafficking organization. On August 19, law enforcement observed Tuz-Noh and Olvera attempt to exchange narcotics in a men's bathroom at one of the airport's terminals.

Soon afterward, law enforcement detained both defendants and opened a duffle bag Olvera had carried. Inside the duffle bag were 10 brick-type packages containing a total of approximately 11 kilograms of fentanyl. Law enforcement believes Olvera had agreed to fly with the fentanyl to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

A criminal complaint contains merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, the defendants would each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Los Angeles Airport Police are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Kent M. Walters of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.