UPS employees charged with trafficking cocaine in packages, feds say

Orlando Candelario Almanza, 49, and Fidencio Salinas Jr., 51, were arrested late last week in McAllen and Hidalgo, Texas, respectively, court records show.

The two UPS employees were part of a drug trafficking ring that involved smuggling cocaine inside UPS packages using fake labels between March 24 and Oct. 3 2022.

Prosecutors said three other alleged co-conspirators, Javier Enrique Mendoza, 48, Jose Felipe Lozano, 58, and Enrique Bernardo Gamez, 45, were charged previously.

According to investigators:

• Mendoza supplied the cocaine packages to Almanza and Salinas, while Lozano provided the fake labels.

• Gamez stored the drugs at his home before transport.

• In total, officials said they had seized 132 pounds of cocaine trafficked in the scheme