A suspected leader of Colombia's Cali drugs cartel, who had intended to spend Christmas Day with his family in the Caribbean, has instead ended up under heavy police guard in the Netherlands. After his arrest on the Dutch island of Curacao, on Tuesday, the man was flown to the Netherlands, where he will face charges of importing cocaine into that country. Stephen Fleay reports from Amsterdam.

Identified only by his initials A L Q B, the forty-five-year-old Colombian had been planning to spend Christmas with his family on Curacao, in the Caribbean. On arrival at the island, he was arrested by Dutch police and has since been transferred to high-security police detention in the Netherlands.

According to the public prosecutor in the Hague, the Colombian - a suspected leader of the Cali drugs cartel - will face charges of organising three cocaine shipments to the Netherlands in 1991 and 1992. As he's also said to be on the United States' most-wanted list for drugs offences, Dutch officials are describing the arrest as an important success in the fight against the Colombian drugs mafia.

In recent months, there have been some high-profile arrests in the Netherlands of people allegedly involved in the illegal drugs trade. The Colombian Cali drugs cartel had in recent years been focussing its attention on the Netherlands as suspected leaders, which follows a three-year investigation, may be a first stage in reversing the Netherlands' tarnished image in dealing with international drugs organisations.