Accused fugitive drug trafficker ‘El Don’ charged in NYC after running for over a year
NY Post
A ruthless drug kingpin nicknamed “El Don” faced a slew of drug, assault and kidnapping charges in a Manhattan courtroom Thursday after getting nabbed in Mexico by the feds following more than a year on the lam, authorities said.
Jonathan Huertas, 31, and his cohorts allegedly kidnapped two people early last year and tortured them in a Bronx basement apartment with a hot iron and melted plastic — and planned to snatch a third victim before cops closed in.
Investigators raided the Morris Heights apartment and found nine pounds of drugs, including fentanyl and cocaine, and busted three Huertas associates, officials said.
But Huertas took off and remained on the run for a year and a half before he was arrested in Jalisco, Mexico and shipped back to New York, Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan said on Thursday.
“The illegal drugs flooding our city are notonly causing record overdose deaths, but members of criminal organizations involved in the importation and distribution have been charged with crimes of cruelty and disregard for human life,” Brennan said in a statement.
According to prosecutors, cops scoped out Huertas and his associates as they came and went from the Bronxdale Avenue apartment, using video footage to track the suspects.
