Accused Jamaican drug lord captured

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KINGSTON, Jamaica, June 23 (UPI) -- After a month-long search, Jamaican authorities have finally jailed the island's No. 1 fugitive, drug lord Christopher "Dudus" Coke, police say.

The accused drug and arms trafficker is being held in a maximum security facility after his capture at a checkpoint outside Kingston disguised in a wig, the Jamaica Gleaner reported Wednesday.

Coke, 41, was the subject of a manhunt that began a month ago after a battle in his Tivoli Gardens enclave that left more than 70 civilians and soldiers dead.

Police Commissioner Owen Ellington says authorities were monitoring a vehicle checkpoint on the Mandela Highway when they stopped Coke's vehicle.

"The arrest of Coke today is the culmination of an extended operation that started on the 24th of May," Ellington said Tuesday.

Coke is wanted in New York on drug and arms trafficking charges.

He faces a U.S. extradition request.

Ellington said he is "looking forward to dealing with the extradition proceedings."