Voice used to ID alleged cartel chief

A reputed leader of Colombia’s biggest drug cartel radically altered his face with repeated plastic surgeries. But U.S. agents identified Juan Carlos Ramirez Abadia, who was arrested Tuesday, using the equivalent of a vocal fingerprint, his attorney said in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Brazilian police taped Ramirez Abadia’s phone conversations, said lawyer Sergio Alambert. Colombian officials provided a recording of Ramirez Abadia, and both sets of recordings were passed to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Agency, which made the match, Alambert said

Ramirez Abadia was arrested Tuesday.