Colombia captured a top cocaine trafficker, who is wanted by a New York court for drug trafficking and money laundering, in a jungle commando raid, police said on Sunday.

Jhon Eidelber Cano, a top leader of the powerful Norte del Valle cartel which is believed to be responsible for half of the cocaine smuggled to the United States in the past decade, was arrested at a country home near the town of Caucasia in the northwest province of Antioquia, police said in a statement.

Cano was captured after 25 police agents and a helicopter gunship stormed the jungle ranch where he was guarded by about 20 people. All the guards escaped after a short gunfight, the statement said.

Cano is considered No. 3 man in the Norte del Valle, Colombia's biggest cocaine cartel, and the government had announced a 5 million US dollar reward on his head. Police said they had been following Cano for six months and captured him with the help of an informant.

Police say the Norte del Valle has smuggled billions of dollars of the drug to the United States and has assassinated hundreds of people in central and southwest Colombia where it operates.

Source: Xinhua