Friday, September 5, 2008 - 19:40
AFP News Briefs ListSpanish police detain top Colombian drug trafficker
Spanish police said Friday they had detained a top Colombian drug trafficker, Edgar Guillermo Vallejo Guarin, who was wanted in the United States and several other countries.
"The detention was carried out at a luxury hotel in Madrid thanks to the cooperation of the US Drug Enforcement Agency as the United States had issued an international arrest warrant for him," a statement said.
Vallejo Guarin, 47, has a long history of violence, money laundering and involvement in bribing high-level government officials, the statement added.
He was responsible for shipping tonnes of cocaine to the United States, especially to the west coast of Florida, and to Europe and is also a suspect in several drug related murders, the statement said, citing the US State Department.
In June 2001, a Florida court indicted him for operating a criminal enterprise. It alleged that Vallejo Guarin was a major Colombian cocaine supplier to the United States from approximately 1990 to 1999.
The US State Department offered a reward of up to five million dollars (3.5 million euros) for information leading to his arrest.
Images
A Spanish Civil Guard officer stands guard in July 2008. Spanish police said Friday they had detained a top Colombian drug trafficker, Edgar Guillermo Vallejo Guarin, who was wanted in the United States and several other countries.
© 2007 AFP Rafa Rivas
