2 charged in Nevada boy's drug-related abduction

Feb. 24, 2009, 6:34PM

LAS VEGAS — Authorities say two men have been charged in the kidnapping of a 6-year-old Las Vegas boy last year.

U.S. Attorney for Nevada Greg Brower says 36-year-old Luis Vega-Rubio and 49-year-old Jose Lopez-Buelna are each charged with one count of conspiracy to kidnap a child.

A federal criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday accuses the men of abducting Cole Puffinburger on Oct. 15 to send a message to the boy's grandfather.

Prosecutors believe the grandfather had made off with millions of dollars in drug money from a U.S.-Mexico smuggling operation.

Puffinburger was found unharmed three days later in a Las Vegas neighborhood

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