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Wanted drug lord snared in Colombia
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published September 11, 2007
BOGOTA, Colombia - Soldiers swarmed onto a farm Monday and captured one of the world's most wanted drug traffickers hiding in bushes in his underwear. Colombian officials called it their biggest drug war victory since the 1993 slaying of Medellin cartel leader Pablo Escobar. Diego Montoya, who is on the FBI's 10 most-wanted list and has a $5-million bounty on his head, allegedly leads the Norte del Valle cartel. It is deemed Colombia's most dangerous drug gang. Montoya was responsible for 1,500 killings in his career, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said at a news conference at Bogota's airport. "Drug traffickers take note: This is the future that awaits you," Santos said before Montoya limped out of an air force plane wearing plastic handcuffs and escorted by five commandos. Montoya is to be questioned before being extradited to the United States, a process that Santos said would take at least two months. A U.S. indictment unsealed in 2004 against Montoya, better known as "Don Diego," and his cartel's other leader, Wilber Varela, said that over the previous 14 years, their cartel had exported more than 1.2-million pounds of cocaine worth more than $10-billion to Mexico and ultimately to the United States.
[Last modified September 11, 2007, 01:38:47]
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