Five people, including two Hispanic UPS employees, have been arrested for allegedly smuggling cocaine via shipping packages, a federal prosecutor said.
United Parcel Service employees Orlando Candelario Almanza, 49, and Fidencio Salinas Jr., 51, of Texas, were arrested along with three other people last week, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced Monday.
The other three men charged were Javier Enrique Mendoza, 48, José Felipe Lozano, 58, and Enrique Bernardo Gámez, 45, authorities said.
The three men allegedly collaborated with Salinas and Almanza to traffic packages of cocaine on multiple occasions between March and October of last year, according to the news release.
Mendoza allegedly provided the cocaine packages to UPS employees, while Lozano allegedly provided false labels for the packages and Gámez stored the cocaine at his home before transporting it.
Police seized approximately 60 kilograms of cocaine allegedly trafficked by the group, according to the statement.
The five men face charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, prosecutors said. If convicted, they will all face life in prison and a possible $10 million fine.
A UPS spokesperson told CBS News that they are aware of the charges against Salinas and Almanza and are cooperating with investigators.
“We are aware of the incident involving two UPS employees and are cooperating with the investigation,” the UPS spokesperson said. “As this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time, but refer to the investigating authorities.”
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