ALLEGED CARTEL FIGURE SEIZED

Tijuana Businessman Is Linked To Arellanos

March 12, 2000, TIJUANA - In what may be the strongest blow yet against the
powerful Arellano Felix drug cartel, soldiers and federal agents yesterday
detained Jesus "Chuy" Labra, a Tijuana businessman reputed to be a family
member and close adviser to the cartel.

The Tijuana-based cartel, run by four brothers, is considered one of the
most violent and aggressive trafficking groups in Mexico. Authorities say
it controls the region's lucrative drug trade to the United States.

Labra, 50, has long been suspected of being a key figure in the
organization, but official attempts to tie him to the Arellanos have failed.

Labra's lawyer said last night that his client was being held at a Mexican
air force base in Tijuana after five hours in detention at the federal
Attorney General's Office in the city's Rio Zone.

Authorities also detained a nephew of Labra's, Marco Antonio Labra, and two
companions, said the lawyer, Gustavo Galvez Reyes.

Neither Mexican nor U.S. authorities would confirm the detentions. But
Labra was taken away in full view of nearly 200 people watching a football
game on the campus of the city's elite public high school, Preparatoria
Federal Lazaro Cardenas.

"The weapons were pointed everywhere," said Alfredo Escobedo Ortiz,
director of civil protection for the Baja California government and
director of a league that brings together students who play American football.

Labra's attorney claimed U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents
participated in the arrest in violation of Mexico's constitution.

"They were speaking English and had Anglo-Saxon characteristics," Galvez
said. "They were coming in and out of the Attorney General's Office without
even identifying themselves."

The raid occurred about 11:45 a.m. during halftime of a game between high
school junior varsity teams from rival clubs, Los Leones and Los Guerreros,
Escobedo said. Soldiers and agents in civilian dress were among the 30 to
40 heavily armed men who descended on the campus and took Labra and the
three others away.

"They never told us the motive for the detention," Galvez said. He
described Labra as a businessman with no criminal record. "He has no ties
to any kind of illicit activities; he has never had any problems."

Sirens blared as the detainees were driven across the city to the air force
base. Witnesses said masked federal anti-drug agents carrying automatic
weapons escorted the convoy.

Late last night, there were reports of shots being fired at the Attorney
General's Office. There were no reports of injuries.

The DEA has described the Arellano brothers as being responsible for the
transportation, importing and distribution of tons of cocaine, marijuana,
heroin and methamphetamine into the United States. They have also been
implicated in the deaths of police, prosecutors, judges and drug dealers.
One of the brothers, Ramon, was named to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list in
1997.

In a 1996 interview with the Mexico City newspaper El Universal, a federal
police commander in Tijuana said Labra was an uncle of the Arellano
brothers. The commander, Ernesto Ibarra Santes, told the newspaper Labra
"is the one who charges fees to 20 smaller bands of drug traffickers that
operate in the city."

Ibarra Santes was assassinated in Mexico City five days after the interview.

Despite his reputed ties to the Arellanos, Labra has lived openly in Tijuana.

In 1993, a team of agents seized a ranch on the outskirts of the city where
Labra was believed to have kept a private zoo of 270 exotic animals,
including a camel and a lion.

In 1996, a team of federal agents searched Labra's residence in a
well-to-do Tijuana neighborhood as part of a series of raids aimed at
finding the Arellano brothers. But the agents came away empty-handed.

Labra's detention comes amid a high-profile effort against drug traffickers
following the Feb. 27 assassination of Tijuana Police Chief Alfredo de la
Torre Marquez.

On Wednesday, Baja California's attorney general announced the detention of
seven of de la Torre's suspected killers. He said they were members of a
hit squad working for a drug lord from the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa.

At least 14 other killings are attributed to the group, which is said to
include at least two former police officers and possibly two currently on
the force.

Authorities say the gang was working for the drug organization headed by
Ismael "Mayo" Zambada, who they say wanted to destabilize the Tijuana area
in an attempt to move in on the Arellanos.

Although claims by Labra's lawyer that the United States participated in
the arrest could not be confirmed last night, Charles La Bella, a former
chief federal prosecutor in San Diego, said he would not be surprised that
the DEA was involved if Mexican officials had asked for help.

Such a request was made late last year when the FBI joined Mexican soldiers
and law enforcement officers at a ranch outside Juarez, Mexico, to search
for the bodies of people killed by drug traffickers.

Some Mexican politicians were outraged by U.S. participation in the
investigation, saying it undermined Mexican sovereignty. But Mexican
Attorney General Jorge Madrazo Cuellar said he had no regrets about asking
for help from the United States and would do it again if necessary.

"I am not going to leave any corner of this country to the sovereignty of
drug traffickers," he said.

Although La Bella said he is not familiar with Labra's history, he saw the
arrest as a positive sign that U.S. and Mexican officials are getting
closer to the Arellanos.

"It's a step," La Bella said. "Let's see what they do with him."