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Mexico extradites El Chapo's colleague to US
AFP
Last Updated IST
Recaptured drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is escorted by soldiers at the hangar belonging to the office of the Attorney General in Mexico City, Mexico January 8, 2016. (Credit: REUTERS Photo)
Recaptured drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is escorted by soldiers at the hangar belonging to the office of the Attorney General in Mexico City, Mexico January 8, 2016. (Credit: REUTERS Photo)

Mexican prosecutors said Sunday that they have extradited to the United States an associate of jailed drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Local media have identified the suspect as Jose Sanchez Villalobos, a financial operator and tunnel builder for the jailed Chapo.

"US prosecutors determined that Jose S was the head of a criminal organization," a statement from the prosecutors' office said.

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Mexican authorities had said in 2012 they had detained Sanchez, who at the time was wanted in the US for cocaine trafficking.

Sanchez was handed over to authorities at a federal court in California, where he is wanted on organized crime charges.

The suspect extradited was known as "The Lord of the Tunnels" due to his underground mastery, which helped the Sinaloa cartel secretly move drugs into the United States.

Sinaloa kingpin El Chapo was also extradited in 2017 to the US, where he is serving a life sentence.

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(Published 20 January 2020, 08:54 IST)