The federal government arrested Herbert Armando “N”, alias “El Rey” or “El Hamburguesa”, an alleged leader of the Epitacio Cartel, for the second time during an operation in which 3.5 tons of drugs were seized in Yucatan.
According to the report of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC), the capture occurred after two searches in the municipalities of Kanasín and Mérida, where four people were arrested, including “El Rey”. The criminal group to which he belongs is dedicated to drug trafficking in the Yucatan Peninsula.
In the operation, in which the Sedena, National Guard, Navy, State Prosecutor’s Office, and local police participated, 544 grams of cocaine, 1,564 kilograms of marijuana, and 2,020 kilograms of methamphetamine were seized.
Herbert Armando “N” was captured at a home in the Serapio Rendón neighborhood in Mérida at 9:22 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the National Registry of Arrests. His arrest occurs almost six months after being released from the state Social Reinsertion Center (Cereso).
Background of the Detainee and the Epitacio Cartel
“El Rey” was released in January 2019 after being linked to a trial for attempted murder, attacks on communication routes, and drug possession, after an armed attack against a state police officer in a residential area north of Mérida.
The Epitacio Cartel, originally from Oaxaca, has been operating in the Yucatan Peninsula since the late 1990s. In 2010, his brother Wilbert “N” was arrested with 400 kilos of marijuana. In 2012, Teresa “N” was arrested with 10 kilos of drugs in Kanasín, and in 2001, José “N” and his children were captured with more than 200 kilos of marijuana.
Some news reports have pointed to possible links between the criminal group and the state police.
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