News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 14, 2010
Contact: Special Agent David Melenkevitz
Number: 954-660-4602

Colombian Norte Valle Cartel Leader Arrested

APR 14 -- (MIAMI) – Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Miami Field Division, announced today the arrest of Ramon Quintero-Sanclemente, one of the principal leaders of the Norte Valle Cartel (NVC). Quintero-Sanclemente, who was arrested yesterday near Quito, Ecuador, was charged in a 2008 indictment in the Southern District of Florida. The five count indictment charges Quintero-Sanclemente with importing cocaine into the United States since 1998, and the associated financial crimes.

Special Agent in Charge Trouville stated “This arrest reflects DEA’s continuous effort to attack the leadership of South America’s largest drug trafficking organizations and work with our international law enforcement partners to prevent these high-level leaders from escaping justice.”

The NVC not only produces its own drugs, but also purchases drugs from reliable sources in the Bandas Criminales (BACRIM) or Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC). The NVC maintains international drug distribution contacts, including alliances with powerful Mexican cartels. Quintero-Sanclemente’s drug trafficking organization is responsible for obtaining more than 50 metric tons of cocaine annually from clandestine labs in Colombia to export to Mexico, Europe, and the United States.

Quintero-Sanclemente was brought to Colombia to face extradition to Miami. A photo of Quintero-Sanclemente can be found at www.DEA.gov.

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