An alleged Sinaloa Cartel drug trafficker has been extradited to the United States from Ecuador, and made his initial appearance Friday in San Diego federal court on charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and launder money.
Brayan Alberto Rodriguez Alcala, 23, of Culiacan, Mexico, is charged in a grand jury indictment with trafficking cocaine from Central and South America to Mexico and the U.S., as well as laundering “millions of dollars in drug proceeds,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Authorities say Rodriguez Alcala’s apprehension and prosecution is part of an investigation into the Valenzuela Transnational Criminal Organization, described as “a significant component of the Sinaloa Cartel.”
So far, 34 defendants have been charged, including Rodriguez Alcala, who was charged in an indictment returned in October.
Rodriguez Alcala was arrested by Ecuadorian authorities in November while he was visiting the capital city of Quito, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Ecuador granted a U.S. extradition request last month and Rodriguez Alcala arrived in San Diego on Friday morning.