Alleged Member of Vast Mexican Drug Cartel Returned to L.A.

Authorities Say Francisco 'Pancho' Aviles-Perez Is a Major Player in a
Cocaine Ring.

Five years after his indictment by a federal grand jury, an alleged
drug lord in Mexico was returned to Los Angeles on Wednesday to face
charges that he was part of a vast cartel that supplied hundreds of
pounds of cocaine each year to California, Alaska and other states.

Francisco "Pancho" Aviles-Perez was turned over to the FBI almost a
year after he was arrested by Mexican authorities near his home in
Sinaloa on information provided by the federal Drug Enforcement
Administration, officials said

Aviles-Perez, 61, had been held in a Mexican detention facility until
his extradition Wednesday.

In 2002, a two-year federal investigation led to the indictment of
more than 130 people in half a dozen cities including Los Angeles, New
York, and Anchorage.

In Los Angeles, Aviles-Perez was the lead defendant among 16 people
who authorities described as some of the most significant players in
the drug cartel.

In Los Angeles alone, more than $3 million worth of cocaine was seized
during the arrests.

At the time of the indictment, Aviles-Perez was already in Mexico,
having been deported after serving a 10-year prison sentence in the
U.S. for heroin trafficking. In Mexico, authorities allege,
Aviles-Perez was responsible for coordinating the shipments of cocaine
into the U.S. for distribution throughout the country.

Authorities say he managed to evade arrest for several years after the
indictment until his whereabouts were discovered by the DEA.

If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.