UPS Workers Among Those Arrested After Allegedly Moving Cocaine Through Packages

Two UPS workers in Texas have been arrested and charged with drug trafficking after allegedly moving cocaine through their delivery parcels.

The two United Parcel Service employees—Orlando Candelario Almanza, 49, and Fidencio Salinas Jr., 51—were among five others who were detained and hit with drug charges, U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced on Monday in a statement.

The three others charged were 48-year-old Javier Enrique Mendoza, 58-year-old Jose Felipe Lozano, and 45-year-old Enrique Bernardo Gamez, authorities said. The three of them were allegedly in cahoots with Salinas and Almanza, and together all planned to transport multiple packages of cocaine on numerous occasions between March and October of 2022.

Mendoza was pegged as the one who provided cocaine-filled parcels to Mendoza and Lozano, while Lozano allegedly provided fake labels for the packages. Gamez was allegedly the one who stored cocaine in his house before transportation.

If convicted, they all face up to life in prison and a possible $10 million fine.

After conducting their arrests, authorities reportedly seized approximately 60 kilograms of cocaine that had been transported by the group. All five men are being charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

“We are aware of the incident involving two UPS employees and we’re cooperating with the investigation,” UPS said in a statement to CBS News. “As this is an ongoing investigation, we are not able to make additional comments at this time, but instead defer to investigating authorities.”