2 LAX contract employees face felony drug possession and distribution charges

Two employees at Los Angeles International Airport face federal felony drug charges after being arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling.

Both Alejandro Medina Beltran, 23, of Compton, and Luis Armando Valenzuela, 29, of Inglewood, are employees of Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines.

The U.S. Attorney's Office announced on Thursday that the men are charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. This felony carries a 10-year mandatory minimum prison sentence and a maximum of life in prison.

"The DEA Los Angeles Field Division can confirm that personnel from the DEA Los Angeles Field Division's LAX Task Force team are conducting an investigation involving two contract employees working out of Los Angeles International Airport," according to an emailed statement from DEA Public Affairs Specialist Rose Valle-Lopez.

"The contract employees are suspected of smuggling drugs," she said.

The two men are scheduled to appear in federal Los Angeles court today, and no pleas will be taken, the US DOJ said.