Suspected Mexican drug kingpin apprehended

Edgar Valdez Villareal reportedly shipped 100 kg of cocaine across the Mexican-American border every week for a year in 2005.

Mexican federal police say that they’ve apprehended one of the country’s most sought-after drug traffickers. It’s not known where or when the arrest of Edgar Valdez Villareal took place, but authorities said it followed a shoot out between police and his gang, who in the past have been armed with grenades and automatic weapons. Villareal was born in Texas and worked as a counterterrorism agent for the U.S. government before becoming a lieutenant in the Beltran Leyva drug cartel. Known as “La Barbie” for his light skin and blue eyes, Villareal is believed to have orchestrated large shipments of cocaine across the U.S.-Mexican border.