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Fugitive wanted in drug smuggling case extradited from Mexico to Arizona

The FBI said Manuel Gortari-Redondo was involved in a Tucson-based interstate drug smuggling organization.
Credit: 12 News
Generic photo of handcuffs

TUCSON, Ariz. — A fugitive wanted for his involvement in a criminal drug enterprise has been extradited from Mexico and returned to Tucson, but his wife and another co-conspirator remain at large, according to the FBI.

Authorities said 45-year-old Manuel Gortari-Redondo was involved in a Tucson-based interstate drug smuggling organization that trafficked marijuana to the Nebraska chapter of a notorious street gang from June 2006 to July 2011.

Gortari-Redondo and seven other co-conspirators were arrested in August 2011.

The FBI said that on the third day of trial in June 2013, Gortari-Redondo failed to appear in court but the trail continued without him.

He was sentenced to 162 months in prison for money laundering, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and other charges.

RELATED: Search for drugs in Phoenix home leads DEA agents to 'cockfighting' facility

FBI officials said Gortari-Redondo was taken into custody in Mexico City and extradited to Tucson last month.

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