Captured drug lord had guns and grenade-launchers

Mexican authorities have said an alleged founder of the Zetas drug cartel had an arsenal of 169 guns when he was captured, and may have been linked to the abduction of nine marines.

Navy spokesman Jose Luis Vergara yesterday said suspect Raul Lucio Hernandez Lechuga – also known as “El Lucky” – oversaw Zeta operations around the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, where nine Mexican marines disappeared earlier this year.

Mr Vergara said a suspect was killed and a marine wounded in a firefight that erupted during Hernandez Lechuga’s capture on Monday in the city of Cordoba.

Marines found 133 rifles, five grenade-launchers, 29 grenades and 36 pistols at the scene of the raid. They also found bulletproof vests with the letter “Z”, the Zetas’ symbol, on the front.