In what U.S. and Mexican authorities called one of Mexico's most important narcotics arrests, anti-drug agents detained two brothers accused of being Mexico's largest producers of methamphetamines, or "speed," and of being the leading distributors of the drug in the United States.
The brothers, Luis and Jesus Amezcua Contreras, both of whom are wanted on felony charges in California, were arraigned here Tuesday on federal money-laundering and racketeering charges, said Mariano Herran Salvatti, the director of the country's anti-drug program."With these arrests Mexico's largest methamphetamine cartel has been practically taken apart," Herran said at an evening news conference.
U.S. officials had been pressing for action by the Mexican authorities against the brothers since 1995, blaming the Amezcuas' aggressive methamphetamine distribution networks north of the border for a speed epidemic that swept the American West in the 1990s.
They are two of the most prominent traffickers arrested in Mexico since cocaine trafficker Juan Garcia Abrego was detained and then expelled to the United States in February 1996.
"The Amezcua brothers run the largest methamphetamine and chemical trafficking organization identified by U.S. law enforcement," said Thomas Constantine, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, in a statement.
"The government of Mexico should be commended for the actions of their law enforcement agencies," Constantine said.
The Amezcuas' arrest, he said, "should significantly disrupt the established methamphetamine trade which is carried out by organized crime leaders in Mexico."
Herran said that Luis Amezcua, 34, was arrested in the western city of Guadalajara on Monday and flown to Mexico City, where Jesus, 33, was arrested separately.
The DEA statement put Jesus' arrest in Mexico City at just past midnight Tuesday.
A third brother, Adan, 28, was arrested in the Pacific coast state of Colima in November. Although Adan has been imprisoned since then, his legal situation remains murky. His lawyers maintain that he is being held illegally.
Herran said that there had been "good interchange of information" among U.S. and Mexican officials during the investigation leading to Monday's arrests.
Jesus and Luis Amezcua were indicted separately on drug charges in California in 1993, and Luis was also charged with murder, according to U.S. court records.
But Herran said Tuesday that U.S. authorities had not requested the extradition of any member of the Amezcua family.