Alleged Sinaloa Cartel Leader Extradited To The United States From The Netherlands

SAN DIEGO –Jose Rodrigo Arechiga-Gamboa, also known as “Chino Antrax,” was formally extradited to the United States by the Netherlands today.

Arechiga-Gamboa arrived at San Diego International airport about 2 p.m. under heavy security. He was flown in by the United States Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration from Amsterdam to San Diego. He was booked into federal custody and is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday, July 11, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mitchell D. Dembin.

A federal grand jury in San Diego returned an indictment on December 20, 2013, charging Arechiga-Gamboa with Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances Intended for Importation and Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances. That same day, the Clerk of the Court issued a sealed warrant for his arrest.

Arechiga-Gamboa was arrested on December 30, 2013, at the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands at the request of the United States. Arechiga-Gamboa was taken into custody at the airport traveling under a fraudulent name, “Norberto Sicairos-Garcia,” as he deplaned a KLM flight from Mexico City, Mexico to Amsterdam. The United States made formal requests for assistance from foreign authorities via a provisional arrest warrant and an Interpol Red Notice. The indictment was unsealed in San Diego a few days later, on January 3, 2014.

According to formal documents filed in support of Arechiga-Gamboa’s extradition from the Netherlands, Arechiga-Gamboa is alleged to have worked for the Sinaloa Cartel as a bodyguard and the leader of an enforcement group called “Los Antrax.” In this position, he allegedly assisted the Sinaloa Cartel by providing security for narcotics shipments and conducting enforcement operations.

According to extradition documents, Arechiga-Gamboa later rose to become one of the highest-level leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel. Despite traveling under a fraudulent Mexican passport by assuming the identity of a deceased individual, undergoing significant plastic surgery and attempting to alter his fingerprints, U.S. law enforcement officials were able to confirm Arechiga-Gamboa’s identity through forensic techniques. A Dutch Court considered the extradition request and, on May 28, 2014, ordered that Arechiga-Gamboa be extradited to the United States to stand trial on the narcotics trafficking offenses.

The Justice Department’s Criminal Division Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in the extradition of the defendant.

DEFENDANT		Case Number: 13-CR-4517-DMS
Jose Rodrigo Arechiga-Gamboa, aka “Chino Antrax,” aka “Norberto Sicairos-Garcia”
CHARGES
Count 1:  Title 21, United States Code, Sections 959, 960 and 963 – Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances Intended for Importation Count 2:  Title 21, United States Code, Sections 952, 960 and 963 – Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances
INVESTIGATING AGENCY
Drug Enforcement Administration Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations Customs and Border Protection Office of Border Patrol San Diego Law Enforcement Coordination Center Homeland Security Investigations Internal Revenue Service Interpol
*Indictments and complaints are not evidence that the defendant committed the crime charged.  All defendants are presumed innocent until the United States meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.