Mexican Drug Lord Rafael Caro Quintero Arrested
Helicopter Crash Occurs During Capture Operation
Photo of Caro Quintero's arrest released by the Mexican Navy on the 15th (local time). Photo by Mexican Navy (EPA Yonhap News)
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Park] Rafael Caro Quintero (69), the Mexican 'drug lord' who had a bounty of 26.5 billion KRW on his head for killing a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent, has been arrested.
On the 16th (local time), CNN reported, citing Mexican Navy officials, that Quintero was captured in northern Mexico.
Quintero, a major drug figure, is a co-founder of Mexico's notorious drug organization, the Guadalajara Cartel, and was nicknamed the "narco of narcos." He was arrested and sentenced to 40 years in prison for torturing and killing DEA agent Enrique Kiki Camarena in 1985, but was released after 28 years in 2013 when the court granted a suspension of his sentence.
Two months later, the Supreme Court overturned the release decision and ordered a retrial, but Quintero had already been released and disappeared. This case was also depicted in the Netflix series "Narcos: Mexico."
The U.S. had placed a $20 million (approximately 26.5 billion KRW) bounty on Quintero in 2018 and pursued him. Quintero was also listed among the FBI's top ten most wanted fugitives.
A detection dog named "Max" played a major role in capturing Quintero. Max found Quintero hiding in the bushes of a village in Sinaloa state.
Additionally, a helicopter crash occurred during the arrest operation. On the 15th, the Mexican Navy announced that a Navy Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Sinaloa, killing 14 of the 15 people on board. The helicopter was supporting the arrest operation, and the exact cause of the accident has not yet been determined.
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