Woman Accused of Possessing 11,700 Fentanyl Pills and Other Illicit Drugs with Intent to Distribute is Arrested and Indicted

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment today, charging a foreign national living in Utah with multiple drug crimes. The woman allegedly possessed and intended to distribute large amounts of narcotics including heroin, methamphetamine and 11,700 fentanyl pills.

According to court documents, Martha Isela Navarro Chapas, 31, of West Jordan, Utah, and other members of a drug trafficking organization were believed to be distributing large quantities of narcotics in the District of Utah. On March 21, 2024, federal agents with the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force arrested Chapas. Agents advised Chapas they had two search warrants for her residences in West Jordan, Utah. During the arrest, agents also seized approximately 23.35 (package weight) grams of suspected fentanyl pills, approximately 2.05 grams (package weight) of field-tested positive cocaine, and $1,318, that Chapas possessed.

Shortly thereafter, during the execution of the search warrant at the first residence, agents seized 2,287 grams (package weight) of field-tested positive methamphetamine, 953 grams (package weight) of field-tested positive fentanyl, which included an estimated 9,500 pills, and 417 grams (package weight) of field-tested positive heroin.

During the execution of the search warrant at the second residence, agents seized 219 grams (package weight) of suspected fentanyl pills, which contained an estimated 2,200 pills. Agents also seized $25,598.

Navarro Chapas is charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, and possession of heroin with intent to distribute. Her initial court appearance on the indictment was March 27, 2024, before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

U.S. Attorney, Trina A. Higgins, of the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated jointly by the Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force (WMDTF) and the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office.

Assistant United States Attorney Seth Nielsen of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.