Los Angeles, California - A Pasadena man who organized and directed a conspiracy to ship multi-kilogram quantities of heroin and cocaine in airplane luggage from Los Angeles to Detroit was sentenced Monday to 162 months in federal prison.
Kevin Blair, a.k.a. “Wood,” 47, who pleaded guilty in September to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin, was sentenced by United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder.
Blair obtained heroin and cocaine from his supply source in Los Angeles, arranged to have drug couriers from Detroit fly to Los Angeles, and then had them return to Detroit with the narcotics concealed in their luggage, according to court documents. Blair also directed a co-conspirator to book airline tickets with his credit cards and directed another co-conspirator to arrange for the couriers’ ground transportation and lodging.
A co-defendant, Delano Leflore, 39, a.k.a. “Bop Bop,” of Detroit, was sentenced in October to 10 years in federal prison for his role in the drug trafficking conspiracy after he pleaded guilty to the same narcotics conspiracy.
Kennsha Mason, 30, of Detroit, one of Blair’s drug couriers, was sentenced in October to 27 months in federal prison after she too pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin. According to court documents, Mason was hired to transport narcotics from Detroit to Los Angeles. During one trip to Los Angeles in early March 2017, Mason travelled to a townhouse on South Oakland Avenue in Pasadena, where Blair supplied the narcotics that were discovered by law enforcement in her suitcase.
Another defendant, Gabriela Maria de Leon, 29, of Woodland Hills, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin and served 16 months in custody.
The case against Blair and Leflore followed the seizure of approximately two kilograms of heroin and approximately one kilogram of cocaine at Los Angeles International Airport on March 7, 2017 after the narcotics were discovered in checked luggage. Mason was arrested at the scene.
The DEA Los Angeles International Airport Narcotics Task Force, an inter-agency task force based at LAX, is conducting this investigation. The Pasadena Police Department provided assistance.
The Task Force also is comprised of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles Airport Police, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The Task Force also works closely with the United States Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration on this case.
The case against Blair was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alexander Wyman of the Major Frauds Section and Jehan Pernas of the General Crimes Section.
