Colombia arrests top suspected drug lord

NECOCLI, Colombia, April 15 (UPI) -- Daniel Rendon Herrera, reputedly Colombia's No. 1 cocaine trafficker and possibly responsible for thousands of killings, was arrested Wednesday, officials said.

Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said Rendon as found hiding under a palm tree and "practically looked like a dog," the BBC reported. Up to 300 officers took part in the hunt that led to his arrest.

The government said the suspected 43-year-old drug lord known as "Don Mario," who had a $2 million bounty on his head, was captured near Necocli in northwestern Colombia, the British broadcaster said. It was not known whether the reward money would be claimed.

Rendon allegedly was responsible for smuggling hundreds of tons of cocaine in the 1990s with his brother, who is now in prison. The BBC said Rendon allegedly had offered his followers, who numbered up to 1,000, almost $1,000 for each police officer they killed.

Santos said Rendon was ruthless in establishing his turf, the BBC said.

"He could be charged with over 3,000 homicides in the course of gaining control over territory to be used in the illicit drug trade," Santos said.

A spokesman for President Alvaro Uribe called the arrest "good news for the security of all Colombians and bolsters democracy."