MEXICO CITY, May 20 (UPI) -- A top Mexican drug cartel suspect was arrested with a dozen accomplices at an airport in northern Mexico, the country's military authorities said.
Rodolfo Lopez Ibarra, known as "El Nito" and thought to be a key lieutenant in the Beltran Leyva cartel, was arrested at an airport in Nuevo Leon state, CNN reported Wednesday. Besides the suspects, Mexican authorities said they seized a Cessna 550 airplane, two cars, a large quantity of drugs and cash, computers, cell phones, firearms and a hand grenade.
Soldiers acted on an anonymous tip to Monday's arrest the eight men and five women, Mexican officials said when announcing the arrests Tuesday in a news release.
Media reports indicated the authorities were alerted by a tipster who noticed heavily armed men waiting at the airport, CNN said. Ibarra was on a flight returning from Acapulco where drug cartel leader Arturo Beltran Leyva reportedly tapped Ibarra for the top post in Nuevo Leon, the reports said.
