The drug lord who escaped from prison was caught after nearly 18 months on the run: the police used heavy machinery to dig up the ground of the mansion and arrested him

According to International Online, Ecuadorian President Novoa posted on social media on the 25th that the country’s jailbroken drug cartel leader Adolfo Macias (alias “Fito”) has been arrested by security forces.

In January 2024, Ecuadorian drug lord “Fito” escaped from prison and triggered a series of prison riots in many places in Ecuador. In order to hunt down “Fito”, Ecuadorian President Novoa declared a 60-day state of emergency in the country, classified the gang led by him and more than 20 other criminal gangs as “terrorist organizations”, and offered a reward of 1 million US dollars. After that, Ecuador deployed thousands of police and soldiers to launch a large-scale search.

It is said that a month ago, the authorities took action against “Fito’s” family, arrested several of his relatives, seized assets and searched their businesses. Interior Minister John Remberg called it “psychological warfare.”

It is reported that the clue for Ecuadorian intelligence agencies to locate the drug lord was the abnormal behavior of an official in the city who stopped going to work a few months ago. Authorities found that the official frequented a luxurious three-story building with an indoor swimming pool, gym and game room, and shiny marble floors and walls. The police eventually tracked down “Fito” by monitoring the official.

Before dawn on Wednesday (25th), hundreds of heavily armed soldiers raided the mansion and blocked the surrounding streets, but “Fito” was nowhere to be seen. Through drone reconnaissance, the police found that the ground around the house was not flat, and inferred that there might be infrastructure and ventilation systems underground.

The police then used heavy machinery to start digging, and when the roof above began to collapse, “Fito” realized that being captured was inevitable, otherwise he would be crushed to death.

“When this happened, ‘Fito’ panicked,” said Victor Ordonez, commander of the country’s national police. “He opened the small exit and left the hole.” A video provided by the military showed the scene of the arrest, with a uniformed police officer pointing a gun at the drug lord’s head, and then he was handcuffed and pinned to the ground.

It is reported that the 45-year-old drug lord “Fito” is the leader of the most brutal drug cartel in Ecuador, the Chone Organization. He once ordered the distribution of drugs from Central America and Mexico to the United States and other regions, and even smuggled guns from the United States to support his drug trafficking.

In 2011, “Fito” was sentenced to 34 years in prison for organized crime, drug trafficking and murder. In 2023, he was also suspected of ordering the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Villavicencio while serving his sentence.

While in prison in 2023, he also released a video with armed men surrounding him. He also held a party in prison, where he had access to various items such as strong liquor and cockfighting.

In January last year, “Fito” escaped from the prison where he was supposed to be imprisoned for 34 years. When the police were preparing to transfer him to another prison with the highest security level, they found that he was missing. Ecuadorian authorities have not yet explained how “Fito” escaped from prison.