Dagoberto Florez, a top leader in the Norte del Valle drug cartel, was arrested Tuesday. The cartel is credited with trafficking half of the cocaine that enters the U.S. every year.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Dagoberto Florez, a reputed capo or leader in the cartel, was on a list of most wanted alleged cocaine kingpins sought by U.S. authorities under a court order handed down in New York in May. The U.S. government offered a $5 million reward for his capture.

Police seized Florez early Tuesday in a rural area outside Medellin, Colombia's second largest city 250 miles northwest of the capital, the national police chief, Gen. Jorge Daniel Castro, told reporters. He declined to provide details on the capture, and said it hasn't been decided who, if anyone, would receive the reward money.

Florez was among nine reputed Norte del Valle cartel leaders being sought for extradition after U.S. investigators traced a money trail from three small wire transfer businesses in New York to cartel leaders in Colombia. Florez was the second on the list to be captured, following the arrest in October of Gabriel Puerta-Parra.

Will this slow down the flow of cocaine? I doubt it unless he turns out to be a major linchpin in their financial setup, in which case it could disrupt some things and expose others to capture. We'll see if he makes it to trial or not.

Tipped by: PoliBlog