Mexican authorities arrested an elusive fugitive who was a suspect in a family-run drug smuggling operation who worked for various cartels that established the route from Guatemala to the Texas border since the early 2000s. The fugitives were hiding in a desolate neighbourhood in the border province of Nuevo León.
Gilberto Villarreal Arelis, the leader of the drug trafficking group at Los Piojos, said detectives with the Nuevo Leon State Investigation Agency (AEI) along with the Mexican National Guard and other federal governments were left unremarkable in the outskirts of Ritzi, outside San Pedro until last week. The troops were able to maintain him arrested. Although he is not facing charges in Mexico, Villarreal Arelis has various hold warrants from the Western Texas region for various drug trafficking and money laundering fees.
At the time of his arrest, Villarreal Aleris reportedly tried to escape, leading the authorities in a high-speed pursuit that traveled almost north of Monterrey's metropolitan area to the border with Tamaulipas.
Villarreal Arelis, along with some of his brothers and relatives, is said to run a powerful drug lord based in the Diaz Ordas-based Los Piojos and the McAllen-Mission area on the Texas side. . The group, known as Los Piojos, worked with both the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas to travel large quantities of cocaine and uncover information from the US Law Office in the Southern District of Texas. The group reportedly kept various stashes in McAllen, where they stored the cocaine there before moving to San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Florida.
Officials said LospioHos used a variety of companies to implement real estate and land development projects across Texas as part of a large-scale money laundering operation. Additionally, federal prosecutors revealed that the group purchased and maintained more than 50 quarters of a horse. As part of a major conspiracy case, authorities have convicted 14 individuals and various businesses. Villarreal Arelis were able to avoid capture for years.
It remains unclear whether US authorities will be able to deliver the Villariar Aleris.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist for the Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded with Cartel Chronicles Project, Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart Management of the Breitbart News Foundation. You can follow him Twitter And on Facebook. You can contact him iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Derby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles Project of the Breitbart News Foundation with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart Management. Follow him Twitter and Facebook. You can contact him bdarby@breitbart.com.
