Thread: Drug cartel leader Arellano arrested in Tijuana

Drug cartel leader Arellano arrested in Tijuana

By Sandra Dibble
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

October 26, 2008

Mexican law enforcement agents have captured Eduardo Arellano Felix, a suspected leader of the brutal, Baja California-based drug cartel responsible for smuggling large amounts of cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine to the United States.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had offered $5 million for information leading to his capture. Arellano has been indicted in U.S. federal court in San Diego.

Mexican officials said Sunday that Arellano was arrested at a Tijuana residence Saturday night, along with his daughter. The daughter's name was not available. They have been taken to Mexico City, as is the case with most high-profile arrests in drug cases.
The DEA also confirmed Arellano's detention. It is the latest in a series of arrests in recent years that has weakened the organization. As the cartel has lost its grip on the lucrative drug-smuggling routes into the United States, a deadly battle for control of the Tijuana region has ensued.

Eduardo Arellano's arrest follows that of his three brothers, Benjamin, Francisco Rafael and Francisco Javier, and the death of a fourth, Ramon, who was killed in a 2002 shootout with Mexican police in the state of Sinaloa.

Eduardo Arellano, nicknamed El Doctor, has been described as a reclusive former medical student in charge of overseeing the group's finances. With the removal of his brothers, he played an increasingly important role.

A nephew, Fernando Sanchez Arellano, has been said to be in charge of the group's day-to-day operations. But Sanchez has been challenged by a former crew leader, Eduardo Garcia Simental, known as El Teo, and their battle has claimed the lives of close to 150 people in Tijuana in the past month.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexi ... llano.html

In a related subject:

For those who get the History Channel, they are airing a series of shows on gangs this afternoon.

Right now, one is on about the Texas Syndicate. They are key players in doing business for the Mexican cartels.