Mexican authorities say a 27-year-old fugitive caught in Southern California and handed over to officials in Mexico is a top operative in the La Familia drug cartel working out of the United States.
In Mexico, the media called Anel Violeta Noriega Rios "the queen of Mexican crime."
Noriega Rios was arrested June 27 without incident at her El Monte residence. Two days later she was taken to a border crossing in San Ysidro, Calif. and turned over to Mexican authorities under tight security.
The Los Angeles Times reports Noriega Rios once using a gardening company to move drugs brought by sea into Long Beach.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say Noriega Rios was arrested in the United States and deported to Mexico five times between 2004 and 2005 but has no criminal convictions in the US.
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