Suspected Sinaloa firearms importer arrested
Mexican officials have arrested a man suspected of being one of the Sinaloa cartel's leading gun smugglers.
The announcement came from the Public Safety Secretariat yesterday (January 19th) after 34-year-old Eduardo Avila Ojeda was arrested for the importation of illegal firearms, ammunition and explosives.
In a statement, officials said he was caught in the northwestern city of Culiacan, capital of Sinaloa state, where it is said the cartel are the most powerful.
The operation to trace Avila Ojeda came about following an investigation launched after December 30th to capture another suspected arms trafficker, Ramiro Rendon Rivera.
Although police did not find any weapons on the suspect at the time of arrest, he was in possession of three mobile phones, three credit cards, two driver's licences and identity documents.
The Sinaloa organisation is sometimes deemed the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and is led by Joaquin 'El Chapo' (Shorty) Guzman, who is still on the run after escaping prison in a laundry basket in 2001.
