SAN JOSE, July 24 (Reuters) - Costa Rican police captured Alejandro Arias, also known by his alias "Diablo," the country's most wanted fugitive who was also sought by the U.S. on drug-trafficking charges, the Central American country's judicial authorities said on Friday.
Arias, 41, leads a violent transnational criminal organization, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which last year offered a $500,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
Arias had been on the run for
almost 10 years and was wanted on multiple arrest warrants in Costa Rica on charges including drug trafficking, robbery, first-degree murder, and money laundering.
The arrest took place in the Sarapiqui region, some 68 kilometers (42 miles) northeast of the capital city San Jose, following an armed confrontation between Arias' group and police that lasted nearly an hour. It resulted in the death of one member of Arias' entourage and caused injuries to eight police officers, two of whom are in critical condition, the Judicial Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecutor's Office said.
Alongside Arias, authorities also arrested two other gang members, including the alleged drug-trafficking leader Jonathan Perez, known as "Tan."
The head of Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency also said the gangs linked to those arrested on Friday are believed to be responsible for 360 homicides.
"It was a very precise, very professional operation that led to these arrests which were necessary for the Costa Rican people," the agency's director, Michael Soto, said.
Authorities found five high-caliber military rifles, three handguns, and surveillance drones at the place of Arias' arrest.
(Reporting by Alvaro Murillo; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez, Editing by Nick Zieminski, Sarah Morland and Chris Reese)
