A notorious drug lord on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list was detained on Friday in an operation that ended in tragedy when 14 Marines who assisted in his capture were killed in a helicopter crash, Mexican Navy officials said. Rafael Caro Quintero was detained by Marines after he was found hiding in bushes by a navy dog in the town of San Simón, Choix municipality, in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, according to a Mexican Navy statement.
Caro Quintero, known as the “narco of drug traffickers,” is considered by Mexican authorities to be the founder of the Guadalajara cartel. They accuse him of trafficking methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and marijuana.
The Mexican Navy Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Los Mochis, Sinaloa following the operation to capture him, according to the statement. One other Marine was injured and remains in hospital.
The cause of the crash was unknown and an investigation would take place, the statement added.
Credit: CNN.com