[Image: Estefania McDonald Rodriguez/Facebook]
A drug cartel kingpin has been arrested in the UK after his blundering wife gave away key details in photos of their lavish European holiday.
Luis Grijalba, who goes by his alias “Shock,” was wanted in the US on charges of exporting cocaine from Costa Rica. The 43-year-old kingpin – who rarely travels with his 32-year-old wife – reportedly purchased $20,000 worth of plane tickets to fly his wife and family to Europe.
Suffice it to say, when he arrived in London to celebrate the New Year with his wife Estefania McDonald Rodriguez, he got the shock of his life.
See, American Drug Enforcement Administration agents had been tracking her social media posts, which included glam shots of their visits to the UK and Paris.
She boasted about her vacations on sunny beaches, where she was spotted holding two parrots, and in Rome where she sat in front of the famed Trevi Fountain.
In one post on her now-deleted Instagram account, Grijalba and his wife are pictured cosying up in front of the Eiffel Tower.
The New York Post reported that the DEA agents, who had been tracking Grijabla since he took off from Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaría Airport, used the post of the couple in Paris to the suspected drug kingpin’s location.
Woopsie, wifey.
Randall Zúñiga, from Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency, said that although Grijalba travelled separately from his wife, he appeared to be too relaxed this time.
“His wife travelled out of the country a lot and posted about it on social media. They went to Colombia and Europe a lot. They had recorded several trips. “She uploaded a lot of photos. The DEA had been following Grijalba for several months and were waiting for the international arrest warrant to be ready.
The American agency wanted to capture Grijabla in Europe instead of Costa Rica as the Central American nation prohibits extradition of its citizens in the country.
“They informed us of the arrest, but it was their job. There was no open case in Costa Rica for which he could be arrested.”
Grijabla landed in court the day after his arrest and is currently fighting his extradition to the US, where he could face a long jail sentence. Costa Rica’s Attorney General Carlo Diaz praised the DEA’s arrest but noted his office did not have any charges against Grijabla.
President Rodrigo Chaves Robles and Security Minister Mario Zamora are questioning Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department (OIJ).
“It is outrageous that the Costa Rican police, I mean the Judicial Investigation Agency, the Judiciary and the Attorney General’s Office, with everyone knowing what Shock does, do not even have an open case against him, while the gringos leave the country and capture him in London. What do the gringos have that the OIJ does not have? Is it decency?” Chaves questioned, according to La Teja.
Zúñiga rebutted saying the DEA had an incentive to capture the people suspected of harming its country’s citizens and “prevent the scourge of drugs”.
The drug kingpin had already survived two assassination attempts in Costa Rica. Little did he know that his wife’s showing off would be the end of him.
[Source: NY Post]
