Mexican authorities say they have arrested six people in connection with the escape of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the country's biggest drug lord.
The Associated Press reports that among those captured are Guzmán's brother-in-law.
The wire service adds:
"Attorney General Arely Gomez said the alleged mastermind is a member of Guzman's legal team who had access to the Altiplano prison near Mexico City, and was able to notify the capo of the operation's progress and receive instructions. The person also purportedly relayed orders and payments to others involved in the escape.
"Other suspects arrested included Guzman's brother-in-law, believed to have supervised construction of the mile-long escape tunnel and organized transportation; a person who negotiated the purchase of the plot of land where the tunnel emerged; and an airplane pilot.
"'Today we are able to affirm that the group responsible for planning, organizing and carrying out the escape from outside the prison) has been broken up,' Gomez said."
The AFP reports that authorities have also detained more than a dozen prison officials, "including the director of the Altiplano maximum security penitentiary and the national coordinator of the nation's jail system."
Guzmán's escape has been deeply embarrassing for Mexico, especially because this was Guzmán's second escape.
This development follows news that Mexican marines had found Mexico's most wanted drug trafficker in a remote mountainous area, but he got away.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
