One Of South America’s Top Drug Traffickers Captured In Bolivia

RIO DE JANEIRO, March 14 (Bernama-dpa) -- One of South America’s most wanted drug traffickers has been arrested in Bolivia and flown to the United States (US), reported German Press Agency (dpa).

“One of the continent's four biggest drug traffickers and criminals has been apprehended,” said Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz Pereira on Friday.

According to investigators, Uruguayan national Sebastián Marset was one of the key figures in the South American cocaine trade and was wanted by several countries.

Prior to his arrest, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had placed him on its list of most wanted fugitives with a reward of up to US$2 million for information leading to his arrest.

An indictment in the US accused Marset of leading a large-scale organisation that is alleged to have transported tons of cocaine from South America to Europe, generating revenues in the tens of millions of dollars.

The network is believed to have been active in several countries, including Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil, as well as in European nations such as Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal.

Marset was arrested overnight in the eastern Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

He was flown out on Friday morning. 

-- BERNAMA-dpa