Post date: May 09, 2013 9:21:5 PM
Mexican marines arrests financial operator for the Zetas drug cartel in the state of Coahuila.
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (MAY 09, 2013) (REUTERS) - Mexico's Navy say they have detained a man who allegedly worked as a financial operator for the Zetas drug cartel.
Alfonso Zamudio Quijada was arrested by marines as he left a building in the city of Monclova in Coahuila state early on Wednesday (May 08).
Marines went to the building to search for the suspect after receiving an anonymous phone call.At the time of his arrest, Zamudio handed over a false driver's licence belonging toCarlos Melendez Ortega. He was also in the possession of weapons and cash, authorities said.
"This alleged criminal transported, at the time of his arrest, a suitcase containing an AK-47 rifle with a calibre reserved only for special forces, two unused chargers, 55 calibre .7.62 and approximately U.S.$300,000 dollars," Eduardo Sanchez Hernandez of Mexico's Interior Ministry told a news conference.
After being interrogated by marines, Zamudio confessed to his real identity and added he worked for the Zetas drugs cartel.
"When authorities asked for his weapons license papers for the rifle he was carrying, this person tried to bribe the marines in charge of the operation, offering all the money he was carrying. He also told them his real name was Alfonso Zamudio Quijada and he was in charge of the financial control for a criminal organisation he named as the Zetas," added Sanchez Hernandez.
The billion-dollar Zetas group is estimated to have as many as 10,000 members across Mexico, Central America and the United States, more than other Mexican cartels.