Mexico arrests 'drug cartel head'

By Claire Marshall
BBC News, Mexico City

Ricardo Garcia Urquiza is suspected of running a major drugs cartel

The suspected head of the drug trafficking gang known as the Juarez cartel has been caught in Mexico City.

Ricardo Garcia Urquiza, also known as "the doctor", was caught with eight aides earlier this month, the attorney general's spokesman told the BBC.

They were arrested in a middle class shopping centre in Mexico City.

Attorney General Daniel Cabeza de Vaca said "the doctor" was probably one of the most important drug traffickers ever arrested.

He said his arrest was a mortal blow to the Juarez cartel.

Huge network

Mr Garcia Urquiza is said to have evaded capture by posing as an ordinary businessman living a middle class life.

Drug barons have traditionally flaunted their immense wealth, but those who try to blend in are now being called the drug traffickers of the new generation.

The Juarez cartel is a huge criminal network responsible for transporting billions of dollars worth of cocaine from Colombia into the United States.

Mr Garcia Urquiza is reported to have become boss in late 2004.

Since then, he is said to have been responsible for as much as 20% of the narcotics reaching American streets from Mexico.