The former boss of Colombia's Cali cocaine cartel was in a US prison cell today after an extradition that capped a 14-year investigation into his multibillion dollar drug business.
The most important drug trafficker ever handed over to US justice by Colombia, Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela was flown into an undisclosed airport early today and taken to a Miami penitentiary, a US law enforcement official said.
He was being held in a cell until an initial court appearance on Monday, the official said on condition of anonymity. No details were available. Known in the 1980s and early 1990s as the "Chess Player" for his ability to outwit police, the now grey-haired 65-year-old capo was one of the last of Colombia's legendary outlaws to run the cocaine business from jungle laboratories to overseas distribution.
Colombian authorities say he continued to run his empire from jail after being arrested in 1995 and after a ban on extraditions was lifted two years later.
He and other defendants named in indictments in Miami and New York face charges of conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine and of money laundering. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment on the drug charges and up to 20 years prison time for money laundering.