INLAND EMPIRE – (INT) – A Sinaloa drug trafficking cell operating within the Inland Empire has been sidelined with 15 arrests. Among the ringleaders is a corrupt Riverside County Sheriff’s Correctional Deputy.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) launched Operation “Hotline Bling” last year seizing hundred of pounds of methamphetamine, fentanyl and 1-point-4 kilograms of cocaine with a combined street value of 16-million dollars.

The DEA and Riverside Police provided investigative leads to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department that led to the arrest of deputy Edwin Michael Alva, 31, of San Jacinto while he was in possession of 104 pounds of fentanyl pills.

Among those also held by the U.S. Marshall are Christopher Arreola-Alvarado, 25, and Jose Javier Raya Cortez, 21, both of Perris.

An indictment alleges that three men shipped kilogram-quantity parcels of narcotics through the United States Postal Service.

Story Date: April 30, 2024