cannabisnews.com: Suspect in Tunnel Case Recognized on 'Most Wanted'





Suspect in Tunnel Case Recognized on 'Most Wanted'
Posted by FoM on March 02, 1999 at 08:34:52 PT
Drug suspect found in prison
Francisco Rafael Camarena was living luxuriously in Agua Prieta, Mexico, when federal agents fingered him as the architect of a 200-foot tunnel that swept tons of cocaine and marijuana under the border into Arizona. 
Francisco Rafael Camarena/ He was in a Mexican prison under another name when he was recognized. Camarena vanished into the Mexican interior in 1990, evading detection for years, even after landing on the U.S. Customs Service's 10 Most Wanted list. What he didn't count on was American television. When America's Most Wanted starred Camarena late last year, customs officials say, someone recognized the 42-year-old as the same man pulling a five-year stint in a Mazatlan prison for drug trafficking. He was there under the alias of Mariano Villegas-Zamora. Today, U.S. authorities are seeking Camarena's extradition to face conspiracy and cocaine trafficking charges in U.S. District Court in Tucson. It is unclear if Mexican officials will comply. "They had given some (suspects) back lately," said customs agent Grant Murray, one of the original agents on the case. "This should be an interesting one to watch play out." Nine years ago, Murray said, Camarena "just disappeared, and we had no leads on him until this recent information." "The minute I saw the photos (of Camarena in prison), there was no doubt," he said. Last month, only days after his identity was verified by U.S. officials, Camarena's attorney was slain in Mazatlan, Murray said. A few days later, Camarena was moved from his minimum-security cell in Mazatlan to a maximum-security facility in the Mexican interior where he remains. Murray said there is no indication that Mexican authorities were aware of Camarena's identity until it was brought to everyone's attention by the television viewer. Roger Maier, a customs spokesman in El Paso, said America's Most Wanted decided not to air a segment on Camarena's discovery because it was unable to land video footage of him in Mexico. Camarena was a rich Agua Prieta businessman in 1990 when authorities discovered the tunnel linking his residence in Mexico with a warehouse in Douglas that was also owned by Camarena. He ran a pair of construction-related businesses from the warehouse. The tunnel was the most advanced of its kind ever discovered, with small rails laid inside to ease moving the drugs. Hydraulic lifts in his home raised the floor underneath a pool table, exposing a shaft that led to the tunnel. It had probably been in use for about six months before being exposed. Though no drugs were seized from the tunnel, Mexican police raided a Camarena warehouse in Agua Prieta a few days later and found more than a ton of cocaine and 14 tons of marijuana. Murray said Camarena is believed to have been a member of the Chapo Guzman drug family that was based in Guadalajara and had tentacles reaching up to several Mexican border towns. The kingpin, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman-Loera, has been serving a 20-year prison term in Guadalajara since shortly after an attempt on his life in 1993. Guzman was targeted for execution by the rival Arellano-Felix drug cartel operating in Tijuana, Murray said. Assassins missed Guzman, instead killing six others including Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo, who was waiting for a Catholic Church official at the Guadalajara airport. Despite Guzman's arrest, Camarena apparently kept the business going. When arrested with nine others in 1995, Camarena was aboard the boat "Arriba a Michoacan" off the Sinaloan coast near Topolabampo. Murray said 2,877 kilos of cocaine were being offloaded to smaller craft when the Mexican navy intercepted the operation. If he is not extradited, Camarena will be up for release from Mexican prison at the end of this year. By Pat Flannery and Keoki SkinnerThe Arizona Republic Pat Flannery can be reached at 444-8629 or at pat.flannery pni.com. 
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