Mexico on Wednesday extradited drug kingpin Oscar Arriola to Colorado to face drug charges, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced on Thursday. He will appear in court in Colorado Thursday.
Authorities said he was flown on a DEA plane from Mexico to El Paso, Tex, to Denver.
Arriola had been custody in Mexico since his arrest on February 2, 2006.
Authorities alleged that Arriola headed an international cocaine ring that smuggled more than 2 tons of cocaine per month into the U.S.
“We deeply appreciate the cooperation we’ve received from Mexico in the extradition of Oscar Arriola to the United States to face this serious federal drug charge,” DEA Special Agent in Charge in Denver Jeffrey D. Sweetin said in a statement.
“According to the allegations, his organization’s drug trafficking in Mexico and the United States allowed him to amass incredible wealth, at the expense of the citizens of both countries,” he said.”He will now be held accountable in U.S. District Court in Colorado for those illegal activities.”
