Colombia: Alleged trafficker surrenders to US authorities

BOGOTA, Colombia – Colombia's deputy police director says one of the country's top drug traffickers has surrendered in Aruba to U.S. authorities, who flew him to New York to face criminal charges.

Jose Antonio Calle was indicted in New York's Eastern District last year for the alleged international distribution of 25 metric tons of cocaine and money laundering. The U.S. government had a $5 million reward out for him.

Authorities say the 43-year-old Calle heads a violent cocaine-trafficking paramilitary gang called the "Rastrojos," or Leftovers.

His brother and alleged accomplice Juan Carlos Calle was captured in Ecuador in March and sent to the United States.

The Rastrojos emerged a decade ago from the dissolution of Colombia's Norte del Valle cartel, and allegedly shipped tons of cocaine northward through Mexico.