Post by evp5O on Oct 29, 2008 1:09:33 GMT -5
www.nationalterroralert.com/updates/2008/10/27/eduardo-arellano-felix-mexico-drug-cartel-leader-captured-in-tijuana/
The head of a major family drug-dealing cartel in Tijuana, a city bordering the United States which is plagued by rampant gang violence, has been arrested, police said Sunday.
Eduardo Arellano Felix, nicknamed “the Doctor”, was arrested in an operation Saturday night, said spokesmen of the National Defense Ministry (Sedena) and Federal Public Security (SSPF).
The police exchanged fire with the gangsters before getting into the house where he had been hiding, they said.
With Eduardo’s detention, “the generation of the (Arellano) brothers who formed that criminal structure has been dismantled,” SSPF Vice Minister Facundo Rosas told a press conference.
Eduardo Arellano was fully identified for his burnt scars in both arms and chest, Rosas said.
“The detention of Eduardo Arellano Felix means a strong blow to that criminal group,” and he will face charges of drug trafficking, use of arms exclusive to the Mexican army and kidnapping, said the official.
analysts warn that the arrest will not necessarily dismantle the trafficking organisation.
“Those people watching the drugs trade say that at any moment another member of the family, or another cartel, could swoop in and recover control,” he said.
Arellano Felix was located in a house in the border area of Tijuana, and fired on federal agents after being encircled, police said.
A three-hour gun battle with more than 100 police and soldiers ensued before his arrest.
He was found with a girl, aged 11, believed to be his daughter, police said.
His drug cartel, also known as the Tijuana cartel, is allegedly one of the four large drug mafias operating in Mexico and is blamed by the US justice department for importing and distributing hundreds of tonnes of cocaine and marijuana in the US.
It has also been blamed for the murder and torture of police officers, informants and rivals