Mexico captures drug cartel leader

With Gomez’ arrest, the authorities have now taken down four top leaders of the group

Mexican federal police captured Knights Templar drug cartel leader Servando Gomez on yesterday, taking down one of the country’s most wanted fugitives whose gang tormented the western state of Michoacan.

Gomez, alias “La Tuta,” was detained without a shot fired in Morelia, Michoacan’s capital, a National Security Commission official said on condition of anonymity.

The 49-year-old former teacher is being transferred to Mexico City, where authorities will hold a press conference about the capture, which was the result “of several months of intelligence work by federal police,” the official said.

Last year, police mounted a massive manhunt for Gomez in the mountains of Michoacan with help from a “rural defence” force comprised of former vigilantes that took up arms against the Knights Templar.

With his arrest, the authorities have now taken down the four top leaders of the cartel, dealing a huge blow to the criminal organisation that once dominated the agricultural and mining state through murder, kidnappings and extortion.

While the gang trafficked methamphetamines to the US, it also made a living by tapping Michoacan’s iron ore mines and exporting the metal to China. Gomez, 49, is believed to have become the de facto boss after the group’s top leader, Nazario “El Chayo” Moreno, was killed by marines on March 9.