Feds bust smuggling ring: Suspects hid drugs inside their bodies to sneak contraband

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Ten people have been indicted in an alleged scheme orchestrated by street gang members to smuggle drugs into a Riverside County jail. 

What we know:

According to the Department of Justice, the defendants concealed the drugs inside of individuals who would purposely get arrested to deliver the contraband.

Three people were arrested Friday and named in a federal grand jury indictment alleging a scheme to smuggle fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin into the detention facility. The other defendants charged in the case were already in custody.  

The indictment alleges that the scheme was led by Andrew Jesus Ayala, 46, and members of a Riverside-based street gang who worked with three in-custody defendants who wanted to obtain narcotics, a group of facilitators on the street, and at least one drug mule who concealed narcotics in a body cavity.

The indictment says the scheme began at an unknown date and continued into late 2022. It apparently stopped when intercepted phone calls revealed their smuggling efforts. In one incident in late 2022, a defendant attempted to smuggle 1¾ ounces of methamphetamine concealed inside his body, but that shipment was intercepted when the contraband was seen on an X-ray machine when they were brought into custody, the indictment alleges.

Leaders of the scheme arranged temporary housing for the drug mules before and after they went into custody to deliver the drugs.  The indictment also alleges that they planned to sell fentanyl-laced pills inside the jail for 10 times the street price.

All 10 defendants have been charged and could face anywhere from five to 40 years in federal prison. 

What they're saying:

"The smuggling of drugs into our jails, particularly with the emergence of fentanyl, has dramatically increased inmate deaths and medical emergencies within our corrections division. I commend the sheriff's investigators and FBI agents who worked tirelessly on this case to ensure those responsible were identified and brought to justice. We will continue to partner with federal agents in our ongoing efforts to keep Riverside County safe," said Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.