Get busted for a mango, but not fentanyl; Las Vegas airport has no drug dogs, acting U.S. attorney says
Chattah, newly appointed by President Donald Trump, said she is working to change this.
'We have agricultural dogs, so you could get busted for bringing in a mango, but you know, you bring in 10 pounds of fentanyl and there you might not get caught,' Chattah said in an exclusive interview with the 8 News Now Investigators. 'People don't need to bring drugs through the airport.'
Sources confirmed to the 8 News Now Investigators that the airport, identified as the seventh busiest airport in the United States, has not had regularly placed drug dogs for years. Occasionally, other agencies may bring their drug dogs to the airport, but this is not on a regular basis, according to sources.
The 8 News Now Investigators reached out to Harry Reid International Airport. A spokesperson confirmed Clark County's Department of Aviation and its K-9 division has dogs specializing in explosives, not drugs.
When asked whether she believed drug dogs were not placed at the airport because it would be bad for tourism, Chattah said she did not doubt that.
'We don't want to ruin Las Vegas' reputation of the party town. That's going to change tremendously,' she told the 8 News Now Investigators. 'Today, if you want to buy drugs, I mean, and it's in plain sight. You know, you could go on Instagram and somebody could post, 'Is it snowing in Vegas?' And they're here from out of town, and drug dealers know what that means. So today the drug dealers coming to your hotel room, coming to your hotel, so there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to interdict large quantities of drugs through the airports.'
Fentanyl is the biggest problem, with methamphetamine being next, according to the Chattah. She said she wants to target drug trafficking in her new role, along with human trafficking.
'Historically, there has not been an incentive to go after human trafficking,' Chattah told the 8 News Now Investigators. 'We're going to go after human trafficking, yes, yes, and you know, human trafficking includes also, by the way, not just the sex trafficking, but also human trafficking as regards to labor, you know, you have a lot of labor trafficking and it's, it's heartbreaking.'
Chattah also said her office has the ability to investigate public utility companies under antitrust violations. She specifically referenced price-fixing and price-gouging.
'The public utility companies have been abusing consumers,' she said.
Chattah also said an election case is underway.
President Donald Trump appointed Chattah as the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Nevada through an unprecedented legal maneuver last week. She resigned from her position as interim U.S. Attorney before the 120-day deadline expired. This triggered the federal vacancy act, which allowed the president to appoint Chattah to the new position and remain in the office, according to Chattah.
Chattah said she was also appointed as a special prosecutor for the United States Attorney General, resulting in a dual role.
Democratic U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen issued a statement against Chattah's appointment.
'This is an outrageous attempt by the Trump Administration to try to install extremist Sigal Chattah as Acting U.S. Attorney for Nevada and keep her in that role indefinitely. Trump knows Chattah would be soundly rejected by both sides of the aisle if she had to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, which is why he's relying on an unconstitutional maneuver to illegally extend her temporary appointment that was set to expire today,' Rosen said. 'I will continue doing everything I can to block any permanent appointment of extremist Sigal Chattah as Nevada's U.S. Attorney. She is deeply unfit for this role, and I call on the legal system to immediately remove her.'
Chattah addressed her opponents and said there is nothing they can do to change Trump's recent appointment.
Chattah is a former Republican National Committee woman, made an unsuccessful run for Nevada Attorney General, and has made headlines for controversial statements she has made.
To reach investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy, email vmurphy@8newsnow.com.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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