Related Federal Cases
Notorious Narcotics Trafficker Extradited to Face Charges
Eduardo Arellano-Felix, 55, one of the alleged members of the Arellano-Felix Organization (AFO), has been extradited to the United States to face racketeering, money laundering and narcotics trafficking charges in the Southern District of California.
The extradition was announced by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Laura E. Duffy and Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer. Arellano-Felix was arrested by Mexican authorities in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, on Oct. 25, 2008, following a gun battle with a Mexican Special Tactical Team.
Arellano-Felix is scheduled to make his initial appearance on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, in U.S. District Court in San Diego before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Lynn Major.
The AFO, a notorious multi-national drug trafficking organization, controlled the flow of cocaine, marijuana, and other drugs through the Mexican border cities of Tijuana and Mexicali into the United States. Its operations also extended into southern Mexico as well as Colombia.
The seventh superseding indictment charges Arellano-Felix with conducting the affairs of an illegal enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity (RICO), conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine and marijuana, as well as money laundering.
The indictment alleges that the leadership of the AFO negotiated directly with Colombian cocaine-trafficking organizations for the purchase of multi-ton shipments of cocaine, received those shipments by sea and by air, in Mexico, and then arranged for the smuggling of the cocaine into the United States and its further distribution throughout the U.S.
Brothers and former leaders of the AFO, Benjamin Arellano-Felix and Francisco Javier Arellano Felix, are currently serving sentences in the United States following their convictions for racketeering, drug trafficking and money laundering charges.
RELATED: Cocaine & Chaos: Arms Trafficker Lands in US Court
RELATED: Bolivian ‘Drug Czar’ Unmasked: 25 Years for Cocaine Conspiracy
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News