Drug kingpin Arellano Felix gets 25-year term


April 2, 2012 at 1:45p.m.

Drug kingpin Arellano Felix gets 25-year term

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A U.S. judge in San Diego has sentenced former Mexican drug kingpin Benjamin Arellano Felix to 25 years in prison.

He was also ordered today to forfeit $100 million.

Arellano Felix once led a Tijuana-based cartel that was one of the world’s most powerful drug-trafficking organizations.

He pleaded guilty last year to racketeering and conspiracy to launder money after being extradited from Mexico.

Arellano Felix’s cartel slowly lost its grip after Mexican authorities arrested him in 2002.