It is not reported exactly how, but Mexican soldiers caught drug cartel leader Adrian Rivera Garcia away from his considerable arsenal and arrested him and two associates in Tlapa de Comonfort, about 140 miles south of Mexico City on Tuesday, Jan. 6, according to news released by the Mexican army.
Rivera Garcia, aka “El Primo Rivera,” is one of the leaders of the Beltran Leyva brothers cartel, and is active in drug trafficking and other crimes in the state of Guerrero.
At the time of his arrest, he had with him 5 kilos (11 pounds) of cocaine, two AK-45 assault rifles with spare ammunition clips, a rifle, three handguns, seven meters (22 feet) of detonation cord, one meter (3 feet) of slow-acting cord, an explosive device, and about $9,150 (122,590 pesos) in cash. Officials seized three cars, four luxury trucks and a dump truck as well.
The suspect was in custody in 2007 on charges of possessing stolen property, weapons and a vehicle, but was released after he paid a $30,000 fine.
The Beltran Leyva cartel is part of the Gulf cartel, which is one of the leading drug trafficking cartels in Mexico, along with the Tijuana cartel and the Sinaloa cartel.
The three suspects were turned over to the SIEDO organized crime unit of the Attorney General’s Office for processing.