Colombian police capture key man in drug cartel linked to Mexico and the U.S.

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Colombian police capture key man in drug cartel linked to Mexico and the U.S.

2011-01-14 18:18:06 GMT+7 (ICT)

CALI, COLOMBIA (BNO NEWS) -- Colombian police on Thursday announced the capture of a man who is believed to have been a key figure in a Colombian drug cartel which has links to Mexico and the United States.

According to the El Colombiano newspaper, Julio Enrique Ayala Muñoz was identified as a man at the service of the drug cartel known as "Los Comba." The criminal organization is led by brothers Javier Antonio and Luis Enrique Calle Serna.

Ayala, also known as "Condor," was in charge of the relations with the Sinaloa cartel which operates in Mexico's drug-plagued north. He is accused of shipping tons of cocaine to Mexico after which the Sinaloa cartel shipped the cocaine to the United States.

It is expected that Ayala will be prosecuted by U.S. authorities as an extradition order was placed back in 2009 by a New York District Court. The arrest of Ayala was possible due to information received from confidential sources, according to Cali police.

On December 29, 2009, law enforcement agents seized 6.4 tons of cocaine in Buenaventura. The subsequent investigation revealed that the cocaine was owned by Ayala. He was the second in command of the late drug kingpin Wílber Alirio Varela, also known as "Jabon."

The head of the Colombian judicial police, Carlos Ramiro Mena, said that the arrest had a significant impact in the international drug trafficking network that involves two of the strongest drug cartels in Latin America.

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