Colombia drug lord surrenders to US agents

Gang leader Jose Antonio Calle turns himself in to officers in Aruba on charges of distributing 25 tonnes of cocaine.

Los Rastrojos
Three and half tons of marijuana belonging to Los Rastrojos was seized in February in California [EPA]

Colombia’s deputy police director says one of the country’s top drug traffickers has surrendered in Aruba to US authorities,
who flew him to New York to face criminal charges.

Jose Antonio Calle was indicted in New York’s Eastern District last year for the alleged international distribution of 25 metric tonnes of cocaine as well as money laundering.

The US government had offered a $5m reward out for him.

Authorities say the 43-year-old Calle heads a violent drug-trafficking paramilitary gang called the “Rastrojos,” or Leftovers.

His brother and alleged accomplice Juan Carlos Calle was captured in Ecuador in March and sent to the United States.

The Rastrojos emerged a decade ago from the dissolution of Colombia’s Norte del Valle cartel, and allegedly shipped tons of cocaine northward through Mexico.

Source: News Agencies