The month of May saw the demise of one of the world’s biggest drug barons when Brazilian police arrested Colombian, Pablo Rayo-Montano is Sao Paolo.
Rayo-Montano was Colombia’s largest exporter of narcotics and successor to the infamous Pablo Escobar as head of the Medellin Drug Cartel.
Never one for the humble consumption of wealth, Rayo-Montano’s toys were also seized. Among them were three yachts, four Miami houses, several million dollars worth of paintings and three islands off the coast of Panama.
The drug baron was infamous for his use of submarines in the smuggling of drugs into the US - a pastime that accounted for up to 15 tons of cocaine per month landing on American shores - enough to “poison” 37 million people according to the statement of the police who nabbed him.
Also caught in the raid were 36 of his henchmen, his borther, his nephew and his ex-wife. The pet dog (Sniffer) escaped.
In a rare display of competent cooperation, the police forces of nine countries were involved in the operation, code named “Twin Oceans” in (dis)honor of Rayo-Montano’s drug smuggling activities on both the Pacific Ocean and along the Caribbean coast.
