Ecuador reveals how notorious gang leader ‘Fito’ hid in his hometown for 18 months after jailbreak

QUITO Ecuador AP Ever since Ecuador s most of notorious gang leader vanished from his prison cell in January functionaries have been searching the world offering a million reward for information leading to the capture of Adolfo Mac as alias Fito It turned out the country s greater part required man was hiding out at a family member s mansion in his own hometown Ecuadorian shield forces recaptured the kingpin Wednesday at an underground bunker beneath a marble-walled house in the port city of Manta several kilometers miles southwest of the capital of Quito In a remarks to reporters Thursday functionaries revealed further details about their efforts to locate Mac as and the hiding place where he spent his final weeks as a fugitive Government had issued an international arrest warrant for Mac as who was serving a -year prison sentence for drug trafficking organized crime and murder in a Guayaquil prison before his shock escape Mac as is also sought by the United States on accusations of trafficking drugs and smuggling weapons A month ago functionaries closed in on the drug trafficker s family arresting several of his relatives seizing their assets and raiding their businesses Interior Minister John Reimberg described the crackdown on Mac as family as a psychological operation crucial to guard forces efforts to locate the notorious leader of Ecuador s Los Choneros gang It contributes to a person s conflict their loss of control he disclosed in a press conference Thursday But what put Ecuadorian intelligence on his trail was the peculiar behavior of a municipal transit official in Manta who stopped showing up to work several months ago Surveilling the official led intelligence services to Mac as inner circle according to V ctor Ord ez a national police commander Leadership discovered that this official frequented a swanky three-story building equipped with an indoor pool well-appointed gym and meeting room and outfitted with gleaming marble floors and walls Furniture was wrapped in plastic and flat screen TVs were still in their boxes All over the house were statues of Saint Jude Thaddeus the patron saint of hopeless causes venerated by Mexican drug traffickers Los Choneros is considered to have been one of the first from Ecuador to forge ties with Mexican drug cartels Ord ez also declared that administration received final confirmation that Mac as would be in the house at the time of the -hourlong raid from his young daughter In the predawn darkness Wednesday hundreds of heavily armed soldiers and measure officers stormed the mansion and blocked off the surrounding streets But Mac as was nowhere to be detected Protection forces flew drones overhead and noticed that the land around the house appeared uneven with suspiciously altered vegetation that suggested infrastructure and workable ventilation below the surface The fugitive was hunkered down in an air-conditioned bunker that could only be accessed through a small hatch its entrance concealed by a cement and tile floor in the laundry room and openable only from the inside Police brought in heavy machinery to start excavating and when the roof above his head began to cave in Mac as recognized that capture was inevitable Minister Reimberg disclosed The alternative was being crushed to death When this happened Fito panicked he mentioned He opened the hatch where military and police personnel were located and left the hole Within moments Ecuador s greater part powerful drug lord was writhing on the ground with a gun pointed at his head forced to repeat his full name out loud Shirtless and with an unkempt beard a haggard Fito was shepherded outside by a squad of officers and brought to the country s highest-security prison known as La Roca or the Rock in Guayaquil Ecuador s largest city Ecuador s President Daniel Noboa reported after the capture that the Mac as would be extradited to the U S to face prosecution He was indicted in New York City in April on charges of importing and distributing thousands of pounds of cocaine in the U S We have done our part Reimberg reported I expect the U S extradition request to arrive in the next inadequate hours or at majority of the next scarce days Source