San Bernardino Sheriff Arrests 9 Men, Alleges Sinaloa Cartel Ties in BNSF Train Cargo Thefts

A year of surveillance ended in a single search warrant. On Oct. 16, San Bernardino County deputies hit a home in the 1200 block of East 35th Street and arrested nine men. The Sheriff's Department announced the arrests Wednesday, Oct. 28.

The department says the men are tied to the Sinaloa cartel and are behind a string of burglaries targeting Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway trains. It says those burglaries produced millions of dollars in stolen property.

What deputies say they found

The department's Rural Crime Task Force ran the operation with help from the Specialized Enforcement Division. Investigators say they spent 12 months tracking suspects and vehicles before moving in.

The haul, according to the department:

• More than $333,000 in stolen retail merchandise, including JBL speakers, Logitech computer hardware, Victoria's Secret merchandise, Nike and New Balance shoes, and Husky tools
• Four semiautomatic handguns
• A drone the department says was used for surveillance
• A large amount of cash. The department has not said how much.
• Tools allegedly used to break into train cargo containers
• Fentanyl suspected of being held for sale. No quantity has been disclosed.
• Four vehicles the department says were used in recent train burglaries

The drone is notable. Surveillance gear suggests planning, not smash-and-grab opportunism, though that is the department's description of the equipment, not a court finding.

The suspects

The department identified the nine as Jose Navarrete, 24; Brian Iran Fontes-Carrillo, 27; Mauro Ruiz-Medina, 30; Pastor Pena-Lerma, 43; Alfredo Covarrubias-Navarrete, 24; Jose Alfredo Castillo-Baca, 24; Jose Ismael Palafox-Bernal, 18; Cesar Daniel Navarrete-Martinez, 31; and Cristian Erubiel Navarrete-Zapien, 23.

The department lists all nine as residents of Mexico, and officials describe them as coming from Sinaloa. It has not said how or when any of them entered the United States, or what their immigration status is. Photos were not released.

All nine were booked into the Central Detention Center on suspicion of conspiracy, theft of railroad property and possession of a controlled substance while armed. Booking on suspicion is not a conviction. No formal charging decision or court date has been announced.

The cartel claim

The cartel link is the headline, and it is the thinnest part of the announcement. The department said the group has ties to the Sinaloa cartel but offered no further detail on what those ties are. It has not said whether the men were members, hired crews, or sellers moving goods for the organization.

That gap doesn't make the claim false. It means the public has only the department's word so far. Prosecutors will have to decide what they can prove, and the charges listed so far are theft, conspiracy and drug possession while armed. None is a cartel-specific offense.

No one in the case has publicly disputed the department's account. The suspects' attorneys, if any, have not been identified.

A rail line under siege

This was not the only recent bust along the BNSF corridor. According to the San Bernardino Sun, deputies arrested Leonardo Martinez Navarre in August after allegedly finding $150,000 worth of New Balance merchandise from BNSF boxcars in his van. FreightWaves reported that deputies recovered more than $123,000 in Brooks running shoes around the same time after a suspected boxcar burglary near Ludlow and Daggett.

CBS Los Angeles reported a separate October operation tied to Victor Valley train cargo thefts. In that case, BNSF officials estimated the recovered property at $2,118,459.20.

The pattern is consistent: stopped trains, forced containers, retail goods that resell easily. Rail cargo moves through long stretches of open desert with little eyes-on security.

The $333,000 recovered here is a fraction of the "millions" the department says was stolen across the year. Whatever was already sold is gone.

What comes next

The Sheriff's Department says it will keep working to identify and arrest more suspects and to recover additional stolen property. Anyone with information can call or text "REPORT" to We-Tip at 844-909-3006, or submit a tip online.

The open questions are specific. Will prosecutors file charges on all nine? Will they present evidence of the alleged Sinaloa connection in court? And how much of the stolen cargo, valued by the department in the millions, ever makes it back to BNSF and the retailers that shipped it?