ACCUSED DRUG FIGURE RELEASE, REARRESTED

MEXICO CITY -- After his court-ordered release from prison Tuesday, the
head of Mexico's largest methamphetamine smuggling ring, Jose de Jesus
Amezcua, was arrested for extradition to the United States, the Mexican
attorney general's office reported Wednesday.

A judge from the Eighth Criminal District Court lifted the money-laundering
charges against Amezcua and ordered him released from the Puente Grande
maximum-security prison where he had been held since June.

Amezcua was arrested by anti-drug police after his release and taken to
Mexico City where he was arraigned in the 11th District Court for
extradition to the United States.

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)