Colombia’s chief of police, General Oscar Naranjo, on Wednesday spoke of the significance of the capture of drug cartel capo Ramon Alejandro Quintero, who was arrested in Ecuador on Tuesday and was deported to Colombia the following day.
Speaking to W Radio, Naranjo compared Quintero’s capture to that of other narco-traffickers who previously held the title of “most-wanted” by drug enforcement agencies in Colombia and the U.S.
The police chief said that Quintero’s arrest is “much more important than that of ‘Don Mario’ or the death of ‘Jobon,’ saying that Quintero was “the drug supplier for the Norte del Valle cartel and in 2006 went deep into hiding to protect his identity.”
Naranjo also noted that Quintero was instrumental in the founding of infamous criminal gang “Los Rastrojos.”
The police official expressed his gratitude to the Ecuadorian authorities for their part in the arrest, saying that efforts by the Colombian police were “well synchronized and helped” by the Ecuadorian police.
“It was thanks to this collaboration that the arrest was possible,” said Naranjo.
Quintero will be charged with organizing the trafficking of illegal drugs from Colombia to the U.S. and Spain.