Federal authorities say the men worked for Envoy Air, a regional carrier owned by American Airlines.
LOS ANGELES, CA — Two contract employees at Los Angeles International Airport were arrested this week and charged with felony possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, federal officials said Thursday.
Prosecutors identified the men as Alejandro Medina Beltran, 23, of Compton, and Luis Armando Valenzuela, 29, of Inglewood. Both worked for Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, and were accused of using airport access to move drugs through secure areas. The case was being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Los Angeles Field Division LAX Task Force.
Medina Beltran and Valenzuela were arrested Tuesday at the airport, officials said. A DEA spokeswoman, Rose Valle-Lopez, said in an emailed statement that task force personnel were conducting an investigation involving two contract employees working out of LAX. “The contract employees are suspected of smuggling drugs,” Valle-Lopez said. Prosecutors said the men were scheduled to make their first appearance Thursday in federal court in Los Angeles. No pleas were expected at that hearing.
The charge against each man carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life if they are convicted, prosecutors said. The complaint says the men had access to secure parts of Terminal 4 because of their airport jobs. As employees, they were transported by shuttle bus from an employee parking area to the secure area of the terminal and were not screened the same way passengers are screened, according to the complaint.
Investigators allege the workers used backpacks to move methamphetamine inside the airport. The complaint says Medina Beltran, Valenzuela and a third airport employee who was not charged with them entered the passenger area on several occasions, sometimes while wearing bright safety vests. They allegedly went to a men’s bathroom and entered stalls near a courier, identified in court documents only by the initials S.N. The complaint says backpacks were passed under stall walls before the courier left with bags containing drugs.
The courier then boarded flights and carried the drugs to another city, according to the complaint. Investigators said the courier told law enforcement he made 10 to 12 trips between January and April and was paid $2,000 for each trip. The courier said he was brought into the work by a friend after struggling to find employment. Medina Beltran told investigators he was paid $1,500 in cash for each backpack he smuggled into the airport, according to court records. He also said he recruited Valenzuela and another man because some jobs involved more than one bag.
The allegations focus on worker access at one of the nation’s busiest airports. LAX handles domestic and international travel from terminals that include secure passenger areas, employee-only routes and airline work zones. Prosecutors did not say how much methamphetamine was seized, how many flights were involved or where the drugs were headed. Officials also did not release the name of the third employee described in the complaint or say whether more charges could be filed.
The investigation remained active Thursday. Valle-Lopez said no additional information was being released because the case was ongoing and referred further questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. American Airlines and Envoy Air were identified in reports as the employer connection for both men. The public record available Thursday did not show whether Medina Beltran or Valenzuela had entered pleas or retained attorneys who could speak on their behalf.
The arrests come after earlier drug-smuggling cases tied to LAX workers and airport access, though officials did not connect this case to any prior investigation. Federal authorities have previously described airport insider access as a concern because workers may move through areas that passengers cannot enter. In this case, prosecutors allege that the workers’ job access allowed them to bring backpacks into the secure side of Terminal 4 before handing them to a passenger courier.
As of Friday, April 24, the case was in its first stage in federal court. The next steps include detention and scheduling decisions, possible preliminary hearings or indictment action, and continued DEA investigation into the alleged smuggling route.
Author note: Last updated Friday, April 24, 2026.