Colombia arrested a suspected British drug trafficker they described as “unseen” because of his low-key lifestyle that allowed him to remain anonymous while working as a cartel coordinator for trafficking cocaine from the South American country to the United Kingdom, authorities said Friday.
Christopher Neil was arrested Thursday in the northwestern city of Medellin in an operation by local law enforcement and Interpol. They accused Neil of working for Colombia Gulf Coast Poster.
Colombian authorities have used the term “invisible drug traffickers” to describe those who operate discreetly, maintaining a normal, low-profile life that contrasts with their proximity to lords the country's drugs in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Colombian National Police said Neil had been living in Colombia since December 2018. The agency said he is wanted in the United Kingdom, where he faces charges of human trafficking and money laundering.
Police said they followed a car that drove through Medellin before Neil was arrested. They said the multi-million dollar trade between the United Kingdom and Colombia played an important role in the capture of the suspect.
/AP
It was not immediately clear on Friday if Niall had a lawyer who could comment on his behalf.
The arrest comes just weeks after Italian police the arrested in Colombia of a dangerous fugitive who is accused of being an intermediary between the Latin American country's drug cartels and the Naples mafia. In announcing his arrest, Italian police release a photo Belvedere visits a grave Pablo Escobar, the founder and leader of the Medellin cartel, who was killed by the police in 1993.
Earlier this year, a man from Norway came up with the nickname “The Professor” who is accused of leading a crime ring that trafficked cocaine from South America to Europe on sailboats caught in Colombia. The police said that Pazooki Farhad, like Neil, had criminal links with Clann a Camais.
In 2022, Clann a Camais went shut down dozens of cities in northern Colombia for four days in response to being the leader extended to the US for testing. He warned that anyone who defied the order to stay at home risked being shot or having their vehicle burnt.
