Alvaro Lopez-Nunez – brother of Sinaloa Cartel leader Damaso Lopez-Nunez, aka Licenciado, and uncle of Sinaloa Cartel cell leader Damaso Lopez-Serrano, aka Mini Lic – was taken into custody by Drug Enforcement Administration agents at the Nogales, Arizona Port of Entry on August 17, 2017. His arrest follows on the heels of Lopez-Serrano’s July 27, 2017, self-surrender in the Southern District of California.
A federal grand jury in San Diego returned an indictment on August 19, 2016, charging Damaso Lopez-Serrano, Alvaro Lopez-Nunez and four of their close associates, including Nahum Sicairos-Montalvo, aka Kinceanero, with Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances Intended for Importation and Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances. That same day, the Clerk of the Court issued sealed warrants for their arrests. Sicairos-Montalvo was subsequently arrested by Mexican law enforcement officials. The remaining defendants are fugitives.
On August 18, 2017, Alvaro Lopez-Nunez made his initial appearance in federal court in Tucson, Arizona and was arraigned on the San Diego indictment.
The arrest marks the continued efforts by the Southern District of California to target the Sinaloa Cartel in Operation Narco Polo.