Coast Guard Nabs Drug Kingpin off Mexican Coast

Aug. 16, 2006 — -- Authorities captured a notorious drug smuggler in a boat off the Pacific coast of Mexico Monday. Javier Arellano Felix is believed to be one of four brothers in charge of the brutal Arellano Felix drug syndicate that has vied to control the drug trade from Tijuana to San Diego for the past decade.

"We have cut the head off the snake," Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty told reporters at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., Tuesday.

A tip led the Coast Guard to board Javier Arellano Felix's 43-foot recreational boat -- the U.S.-registered Doc Holliday -- Monday morning after authorities conducted undercover operations aimed at his arrest for the past 14 months, according to Michael Braun, chief of operations for the Drug Enforcement Agency.

"For more than a decade, the Arellano Felix organization has flooded the United States with hundreds of tons of cocaine, marijuana and other drugs," Braun said. "Now, we have got this brutal organization in a choke hold."

Neither Braun nor McNulty would elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the tip that led to Javier Arellano Felix's arrest, nor would they identify any of the seven adults and three minors who were onboard the Doc Holliday with Arellano Felix.

"This was the result of a long, complex undercover operation," said Braun. He said no determination had been made about any distribution of the $5 million reward, and it's even possible that none of the money could be paid.

Javier Arellano Felix was traveling under an alias, but, following his capture, he admitted his identity, according to authorities. He is currently onboard the Coast Guard clipper Monsoon, en route to San Diego, where he will face conspiracy, drug distribution, racketeering and possibly murder charges, all spelled out in an unsealed 2003 federal indictment.

McNulty said the Arellano Felix organization is believed to be responsible for more than 20 murders over the past decade, and it's possible that Arellano Felix could also be charged in connection with some of those.