Venezuela says it captures suspected drug smuggler wanted in US on cocaine trafficking charges

[Judi Lynn]

Venezuela says it captures suspected drug smuggler wanted in US on cocaine trafficking charges
CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER
Associated Press Writer
10:17 p.m. EDT, June 24, 2010

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela has captured a suspected Colombian drug smuggler who is wanted on cocaine charges in the United States and who has allegedly collaborated with Mexico's Zetas drug gang, the justice minister said Thursday.

Tareck El Aissami held up the arrest of Luis Frank Tello Candelo, 47, better known as "El Negro Frank," as proof of Venezuela's determination to combat organized crime and drug trafficking.

Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas did not immediately answer telephone calls seeking comment.

El Aissami did not provide details regarding Tello Candelo's purported ties to the Zetas, initially formed by an elite group of Mexican soldiers who deserted to become hit men for the Gulf Cartel. The Zetas have since turned to drug trafficking and are fighting their former allies.

More:
http://www.courant.com/news/nation-world/sns-ap-lt-venezuela-us-drugs,0,3498059.story

[Judi Lynn]

1. Colombian trafficker arrested in Venezuela .(Disappearing records? Really?)

Colombian trafficker arrested in Venezuela .
Friday, 25 June 2010 11:39 Brett Borkan .

Venezuelan authorities report the arrest of Colombian cocaine smuggler Luis Frank Tello Candelo, alias "El Negro Frank" who is wanted by the United States on drug charges.

According to Venezuelan interior minister Tareck El Aissami, Venezuelan police arrested 47-year-old El Negro Frank on Wednesday in the state of Miranda, alongside a Mexican alleged narco-trafficker from the "Los Zetas" cartel.

El Aissami said that the Colombian trafficker was also arrested in Colombia in 1996, but freed in 1999 when a judge ordered his release due to lack of evidence, after his file mysteriously disappeared from Colombian intelligence agency DAS' archives, in addition to those of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and CIA.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/10482-colombian-trafficker-arrested-in-venezuela.html

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Can't find any photos of this guy. They are all just GONE. Here's a report on him via google translation:

Captured in Venezuela to Colombian narco requested by U.S.
June 24, 2010 3:57 pm

Authorities arrested a suspected Colombian drug trafficker who is wanted in the United States for various crimes, said Thursday the Minister of the Interior , Tarek El Aissami.
Colombian Luis Frank Tello Candelo , 47 , was captured in the last hours in the Havana municipality of Baruta , said El Aissami.

Tello , aka the "black Frank ", is "one of the most popular men in America "for the crimes of " drug trafficking "," conspiracy "and " money laundering from drug trafficking , "said minister.

The Aissami reported that the detainee is said to integrate a group known as "Los Zetas " who traffics drugs and distributes in Mexico, and that " corrupt officials from Mexico and the United States. "

He indicated that he has informed the Colombian authorities on the arrest , but did not say when and where he would be deported Tello.

The portfolio holder stated that local authorities are still conducting research on the case and that it is possible to make additional arrests .

The Aissami also rejected a report issued on the eve of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ( UNDOC) , which states that drug trafficking through Venezuela has increased in recent years.

He said that the figures on Venezuela i " do not correspond with reality and are not true , much less reflect the effort made by our government. "

According to the official , Venezuela asked the president of UN General Assembly , Ali Treki Abdessalam , a review "immediately be rectified and that the data are reflected in this report. "

The report's release coincided with the visit of Treki to Venezuela, where, through an interpreter said .

In this regard the Libyan political , ending his term in September from a year in the General Assembly , told VTV that the UNODC report what he saw in Venezuela. "I think this will be very beneficial to re-evaluate any incorrect information that has been produced , "he said .

The UNODC said in its report that more than half of the large seizures of cocaine intercepted in the Atlantic, between 2006 and 2008, came from Venezuela.

Also , the international greeted the Venezuelan security forces have seized 34 tons of cocaine in 2008, but also expressed concern because this amount exceeded the seizure of Peru and Bolivia.

http://www.radiosantafe.com/2010/06/24/capturan-en-venezuela-a-narco-colombiano-solicitado-por-ee-uu/