Long Beach Officer Held in Drug Sting

A Long Beach police officer suspected of stealing from drug dealers while on patrol was arrested early Thursday in an undercover sting.

Officer Julio A. Alcarez, 36, was taken into custody when he returned to headquarters after taking six kilograms of cocaine from an undercover agent who posed as a drug trafficker, authorities said.

Alcarez was booked at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center on charges of possessing cocaine for sale and illegal use of his service revolver.

The officer, who had worked for the department since 1989, came under suspicion during a routine drug investigation by Long Beach police.

The case was referred to the FBI, which launched an investigation with help from the state Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement and Long Beach police.

In a court-authorized wiretap of his cellular phone conversations, Alcarez was overheard making plans with a government informant to steal drugs from a narcotics trafficker, authorities said. The narcotics dealer was actually an undercover agent.

On Wednesday night, the agent, carrying six kilograms of cocaine, drove into a parking lot and waited. After a while, authorities said, Alcarez pulled up in his patrol car, confronted the agent and stole the cocaine, delivering it to a confederate, Ismael Rodriguez, 35, of Compton, before returning to his routine duties.

Task force officers followed Rodriguez and arrested him after a high-speed chase. He also was charged with possession of cocaine for sale.