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Six people were indicted last week on federal heroin distribution charges.
A federal grand jury Thursday indicted Tiffinnie Lynn Morris, James Jesse Perez, Justin Alika Kaahu, Tevita Mailei, Maurice Johnson and Zachary Tufele. Perez is also known as Sergio Ivan Ortega.
The DEA says Morris, 47, agreed to act as a cooperating defendant after Honolulu police arrested her in downtown Honolulu on Jan. 9 for selling heroin to an undercover officer for $40. Morris identified Perez as her supplier and gave police his telephone number. A week later police told Morris to stop communicating with Perez after she told them she feared for her safety if Perez and his associates discovered she was cooperating.
On Feb. 17 the DEA says its agents, who had a wiretap on the telephone number Morris had provided, intercepted a call from Morris asking Perez for a meeting. The two communicated again for the delivery of 25 grams of heroin three days later and continued to communicate after the delivery.
By the time Morris sent a text message to Perez on March 10, Perez was already in custody, and it was the DEA that received the message.
The DEA says its agents and Honolulu police had previously arrested Tufele and Mailei traveling to
Honolulu from Los Angeles with suitcases containing heroin. The DEA also said Tufele admitted that he transported money to the mainland for Perez but didn’t know that the bags he brought back to Honolulu contained heroin.
