DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart today announced that Benjamin Arellano-Felix, nearly 60, the former leader of the Tijuana Cartel/Arellano-Felix Organization (AFO) was sentenced to serve 25 years in federal prison.

Judge Burns also ordered Arellano-Felix to forfeit $100 million in criminal proceeds. The sentence followed Arellano-Felix’s conviction for racketeering and money laundering.

“Today’s prison sentence virtually ensures that Arellano-Felix will spend the remainder of his life in custody. Following this sentence, he will be deported to Mexico to finish a 22-year sentence. This is a fitting end for a person who has caused so much suffering and destruction,” commented United States Attorney Duffy.

Long-reputed to be one of the most notorious multi-national drug trafficking organizations to ever exist, the AFO controlled the flow of cocaine, marijuana and other drugs through the Mexican border cities of Tijuana and Mexicali into the United States.

Arellano-Felix was the leader of the AFO from approximately 1986 to until his arrest on March 9, 2002.