Venezuela arrests top Colombian drug trafficker
By IANSTuesday, July 6, 2010
Caracas, July 7 (IANS/EFE) A top Colombian drug trafficker wanted by the US has been arrested in Venezuela, officials said Tuesday.
Alberto Renteria Mantilla is one of the top leaders of the powerful Norte del Valle drug cartel. The US had offered a $5-million reward for his capture.
Renteria Mantilla was arrested Monday in Altamira city east of Caracas in a joint operation between the country’s drug enforcement unit and British intelligence agents.
The Norte del Valle cartel is considered one of the largest drug trafficking organisations in the world.
Its leader Diego Leon Montoya is blamed for killing about 1,500 people over the past two decades. He was arrested in 2007 and was extradited to the US in 2008.
The Norte del Valle cartel has been accused of smuggling 500 tonnes of cocaine into the US via Mexico between 1990 and 2004.
–IANS/EFE
