Six people who stand accused of helping Sinaloa drug lord El Chapo Guzman flee jail have now been arrested.
Among those in custody are El Chapo’s brother-in-law, who police say oversaw the construction of a mile-long tunnel under the jail, and one of the kingpin’s lawyers accused of devising the escape plot.
Other suspects arrested included person who negotiated the purchase of the plot of land where the tunnel emerged, and a second airplane pilot – with the first being arrested last week.
Attorney General Arely Gomez said: ‘Today we are able to affirm that the group responsible for planning, organizing and carrying out the escape from outside the prison) has been broken up.’
Gomez added that the person they suspect of being the mastermind of the plot was a member of Guzman’s legal counsel who had access to Altiplano jail, where he was being kept.
Last week police revealed they had captured a man believed to be the pilot who flew El Chapo 600 miles back to his gang’s territory from Queretaro state, where he traveled after getting out of jail.
Today, authorities said the arrested a second pilot they accuse of acting as a decoy, saying both men left Queretaro at the same time in identical Cessna planes, only one of which carried Guzman.
Gomez did not name any of the suspects but said they planned, organized and carried out the jailbreak in cahoots with officials inside the maximum-security lockup.
Following Guzman’s jailbreak, the Mexican government revealed it had received an extradition request from the United States for the Sinaloa boss, who was the most wanted drug lord in the world before his capture in February 2014.
Read More: ‘El Chapo’ on the Run: Mexican Drug Lord Has Leg, Face Injuries: Sources
