A Mexican state's top law enforcement official has been accused of conspiring to smuggle and sell heroin, cocaine and other drugs, after he was arrested by U.S. agents this week in San Diego. According to an arrest warrant, Nayarit state Attorney General Edgar Veytia used the name "Diablo" and other aliases.
U.S. prosecutors say they'll seek to compel Veytia to forfeit some $250 million if he's convicted.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested Veytia at the Cross Border Xpress airport terminal, a transit point that links San Diego to the Tijuana airport. A warrant for his arrest was issued March 2 on the basis of a sealed indictment.
In that now-unsealed indictment, the U.S. says Veytia used aliases such as "Diablo," "Eepp" and "Lic veytia" as he worked with a criminal enterprise to manufacture and distribute heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. The document accuses Veytia of crimes dating from January 2013 to last month.
From Mexico City, NPR's Carrie Kahn reports:
"Veytia has been the top law enforcement official of the Pacific Mexican state of Nayarit since 2013. Allegations of the attorney general's ties to the rising Jalisco New Generation cartel have long been raised in the Mexican press.
"Nayarit's governor told the national Milenio newspaper he was surprised at the arrest, given the low crime rate in the state."
The FBI says the arrest stems from a joint investigation that also involved the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations.