( AP ) - Soldiers swarmed onto a farm Monday and captured one of the world's most wanted drug traffickers hiding in bushes in his underwear. Colombian officials called it their biggest drug war victory since the 1993 slaying of Medellin cartel leader Pablo Escobar.
Diego Montoya, who sits with Osama bin Laden on the FBI's 10 most-wanted list and has a $5 million bounty on his head, allegedly leads the Norte del Valle cartel. It is deemed Colombia's most dangerous drug gang and is accused of shipping hundreds of tons of cocaine to the U.S.
Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos told a news conference at Bogota's airport that Montoya was responsible for 1,500 killings in his career.
"Drug traffickers take note: This is the future that awaits you," Santos said before Montoya limped out of an air force plane wearing plastic handcuffs and escorted by five commandos.
Montoya put up no resistance when the army finally cornered him in the cartel's stronghold of Valle del Cauca state on the Pacific Coast, officials said. He is to be questioned before being extradited to the U.S., a process that Santos said would take at least two months.
After months of planning, elite commandos raided the small farm before dawn Monday and nabbed Montoya along with an uncle and three other cartel members, authorities said.