An alleged member of the Sinaloa Cartel will make his initial appearance in federal court in El Paso, Texas today. The 47-year-old Arturo Shows Urquidi, alias “Chous,” will face numerous felony charges stemming from an April 2012 federal grand jury indictment. DEA and FBI officials are hailing Urquidi’s extradition and arrest as an exemplar of international efforts to stop one of the largest drug trafficking organizations in North America.
Alleged High-Ranking Cartel Leader Faces Life In Federal Prison
On Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Texas released a statement that an alleged Sinaloa Cartel leader had been taken into federal custody in El Paso after his extradition from Mexico to the United States on Wednesday.
Urquidi’s extradition and arrest come more than six years after an El Paso federal grand jury indicted him on RICO, weapons, and drug charges in 2012. According to that indictment, Urquidi’s role in Cartel operations included loading and unloading cocaine, drug proceeds, and firearms in Juarez.
Urquidi’s alleged crimes include one RICO conspiracy count and one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana.
Additionally, Urquidi faces charges for conspiracy to import those drugs into the U.S. And that’s on top of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and finally, and one count of conspiracy to possess firearms for the purpose of committing drug trafficking crimes.
The laundry list of alleged charges is enough to land Urquidi in federal prison for the rest of his life. Indeed, just last week, one of Urquidi’s co-defendants, a former Mexico state police officer, went down on charges in connection to the investigation that landed Urquidi. Mario De