MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities in Mexico have arrested a man suspected of being the main migrant smuggler for the Zetas drug cartel, an official said Thursday.

Fernando Martinez Magana, 42, is accused of coordinating the smuggling of Mexican and Central American migrants into the United States from his base in Nuevo Laredo, across the border from Texas, said federal police chief Monte Alejandro Rubido.

Martinez Magana was arrested in the northern city of Monterrey, where he had fled to as authorities closed in, said Rubido.

The Nuevo Laredo-native is also wanted in the United States, where investigators say his criminal cell kept dozens of migrants in stash houses or apartments across San Antonio.

Martinez Magana had replaced a Zetas leader in Nuevo Laredo who was arrested in December 2011 and took over his nickname of “Z16,” Rubido said.

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