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Pubdate: Fri, 04 May 2001 Source: Reuters (Wire) Copyright: 2001 Reuters Limited Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/364 Author: Kieran Murray MEXICO ARRESTS ALLEGED 'AMPHETAMINE KING' MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican police arrested on Thursday an alleged drug lord accused of joining forces with his two brothers to smuggle huge quantities of synthetic drugs into the United States. President Vicente Fox (news - web sites) said Adan Amezcua, dubbed along with his brothers as Mexico's ``kings of amphetamines,'' was arrested and was joining his two elder brothers behind bars. ``This is truly a great arrest now that the three Amezcua brothers are in jail,'' Fox said in comments made during a visit to Washington and broadcast by Mexican radio stations. ``This is really another great battle against drug trafficking in Mexico,'' Fox said. Luis and Jose Amezcua were arrested in 1998 and U.S. authorities have requested their extradition on charges that they dominated the lucrative trade in smuggling amphetamines, or ``speed,'' into the United States. Adan Amezcua served a U.S. prison term between 1993 and 1995 for conspiring to transport amphetamines, and was arrested in 1997 in Mexico but later released for lack of evidence. Mexico's Attorney General's office (PGR) said Adan Amezcua's most recent arrest was for charges of using goods and money of illicit origin and criminal association. Amezcua said in an interview with TV broadcaster Televisa, however, said he is just a rancher and unsure why he is being persecuted. ``It's the third time they've tried me for the same crime,'' Amezcua told Televisa from the prison where he has been detained. ``There is no cartel. ... They have not proved anything.'' Adan Amezcua was widely believed to be less of a player in the drugs trade than his two brothers, but Fox on Thursday described him as a ``capo grande'', or a major drug lord. The Amezcua's so-called Colima cartel was among the largest in Mexico and specialized in ``speed'' while the others focused on cocaine. The brothers imported chemical ingredients from Europe, India and Pakistan through Mexican ports on both coasts for the synthetically made drug and later moved the finished product across the U.S. border through the border city of Tijuana, according to the PGR. Adan Amezcua, who was detained in the western state of Jalisco, is believed by the PGR to have directed the drug's production at clandestine laboratories. But the Colima cartel -- named for the western Mexican state where the Amezcuas were based -- has lost some of its prominence since the first two brothers were arrested. Since taking office last December, Fox has promised to work closely with the U.S. government in cracking down on the drug cartels. He has already developed a close friendship with President Bush and was in Washington on Thursday. Luis Amezcua was accused of ordering the 1999 murder of Mexican television variety host Francisco ``Paco'' Stanley. Prosecutors alleged that Amezcua ordered the hit because Stanley owed him large amounts of money for drugs. But the case against Amezcua and other suspects in the case -- including Stanley's on-screen sidekick -- later collapsed. The other suspects were released but Amezcua remained in jail on money-laundering charges linked to his alleged drug smuggling business. - --- MAP posted-by: Andrew