Slain Drug Trafficker Linked to Sylmar Bust
A drug trafficker gunned down in Juarez earlier this month had ties to Colombia’s Medellin drug cartel and was involved in a record cocaine bust in Sylmar, federal officials said Thursday.
The suspect, Roberto Najar, 28, was one of two men killed Dec. 1 in Juarez. Federal police commander Elias Ramirez said Najar was a close friend of accused Juarez drug lord Rafael Munoz, who is believed to have masterminded the shipment of 21.4 tons of cocaine seized Sept. 29 in Sylmar after being smuggled across the border from Juarez into Los Angeles.
Najar and another drug trafficker were killed in a gang-style slaying in Juarez in front of a home owned by a former federal officer. The other victim was identified as Najar’s bodyguard, Oscar Rivera Nogeda, 38.
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