10 charged in drug smuggling scheme at Riverside County jail
A federal grand jury indicted 10 people for allegedly creating a drug smuggling scheme at a Riverside County jail.
The indictment accuses the suspects of trying to sneak fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin into the facility by hiding the drugs inside of people who purposefully got themselves arrested. Fentanyl-laced pills could be sold in jail at 10 times the regular street price, according to the Department of Justice.
"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," Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said.
The suspects face a minimum of five years in prison if convicted as charged.
Federal investigators do not know when the alleged drug smuggling scheme started but know it continued into late 2022 after they intercepted phone calls where people talked about sneaking drugs into a Riverside County custody facility. They named Andrew Jesus Ayala, 46, the scheme's alleged mastermind, according to the indictment.
Ayala and a Riverside street gang would recruit people willing to smuggle the drugs inside their bodies. The crew would arrange temporary housing for the drug mules before and after they purposely got arrested to deliver the drugs, according to the indictment.
In one instance, a suspect tried to smuggle 1.75 ounces of meth inside of his body. However, an X-ray machine revealed the contraband.
