MEXICO: Authorities announce the arrest of senior member of a Tijuana drug gang wanted by the U.S.

Record ID: 303889

  • Title: MEXICO: Authorities announce the arrest of senior member of a Tijuana drug gang wanted by the U.S.
  • Date: 25th April 2009
  • Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (APRIL 23, 2009) (REUTERS) (CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY) EXTERIOR OF MEXICO'S SPECIAL ORGANIZED CRIME INVESTIGATION UNIT (SIEDO) VARIOUS OF ARRESTED MEN WALKING IN TO BE PRESENTED, ESCORTED BY POLICE GENERAL VIEW OF NEWS CONFERENCE VARIOUS OF PRESENTATION VARIOUS OF ARRESTED MEN BEING LED OUT BY POLICE GUANAJUATO, MEXICO (APRIL 22, 2009) (REUTERS) POLICE DURING PRESENTATION OF ARRESTED MEN ARRESTED MEN WALKING IN TO BE PRESENTED, ESCORTED BY POLICE POLICE DURING PRESENTATION VARIOUS OF ARRESTED MEN BEING PRESENTED (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, CARLOS ZAMARRIPA, SAYING "They are all part of the same organization (La Familia). That's the link we have and with regards to other cases they could be linked to, such as kidnappings, drug trafficking and other extortions, they are under investigation." VARIOUS OF ARRESTED MEN LEAVING AFTER NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 10th May 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Reuters ID: LVAD2SF4KY1T83WHPHBO8FNVQWOZ
  • Story Text: Mexican authorities arrested a young operator for the Tijuana drug cartel, also known to belong to the Arellano Felix clan, wanted by the U.S.
    Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
    Isaac "Dany" or "Martin" Godoy Castro, was presented to the media on Thursday (April 23) together with another six alleged drug traffickers from the group, operating under the orders of Fernando "the engineer" Sanchez Arellano, cartel heir, said the Defense Ministry during the presentation of the men in Mexico City. All the men were arrested in Tijuana, Baja California.
    This cartel, a great family business which began in the 1980s, has begun to disintegrate over the past few years because some brothers have been arrested or have died during shootouts with security forces and rival gangs.
    Currently the Sanchez Arellano drug gang is one of three remaining from the old cartel who are involved in bloody fights for control of Tijuana, one of the main drug entrance routes into the United States, the main drug consumer in the world.
    Meanwhile in the municipality of Irapuato in the state of Guanajuato, police arrested four alleged drug traffickers and seized rifles, chargers, cartridges, cell phones, badges and four vehicles reported as stolen.
    The arrested men allegedly belong to the criminal gang "La Familia" (The Family) based in the state of Michoacan and tried to exhort a merchant who reported them to the police. They were set up by the extortion victim and arrested in a shopping centre and a bar after the police conducted a special undercover operation.
    After being questioned, the arrested men told authorities about nine other houses in the municipalities of Irapuato and Salamaca used by the criminal gang. Weapons and drugs were found in some of the homes but no further arrests were conducted.
    The four arrested men said they had been involved in the extortion of other businessmen in other state municipalities.

    "They are all part of the same organization (La Familia). That's the link we have and with regards to other cases they could be linked to, such as kidnappings, drug trafficking and other extortions, they are under investigation," state attorney general, Carlos Zamarripa, told a news conference.
    Some 6,300 people died in drug violence last year in an escalating conflict that is worrying Washington as it starts to spill over into U.S.
    cities including Phoenix and Tucson.
    U.S. President Barack Obama visited Mexico last week and promised to reinforce security along the U.S.-Mexican border and crack down on the flow of American weapons into Mexico that has helped drug gangs amass huge arsenals.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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