Alleged ‘major’ Sinaloa Cartel trafficker extradited to San Diego

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KESQ) - An alleged Sinaloa Cartel member indicted on charges of trafficking cocaine from South America through Mexico and into the United States made his initial appearance in San Diego federal court today.   

Miguel Angel Valdez Ruiz, 36, of Sinaloa, allegedly used a fleet of private aircraft to move cocaine from Ecuador to Mexico, then coordinated its importation into the United States, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The Treasury Department also described Valdez Ruiz as an "intermediary" between former Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Ismael Zambada Garcia and alleged Ecuadorian drug trafficker Wilder Emilio Sanchez Farfan, who is also facing charges in San Diego.

Valdez Ruiz was indicted in 2019. He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday and is due back in court this Friday for a detention hearing.