A Mexican judge has been arrested and accused of accepting $2 million in bribes in exchange for releasing a suspected Canadian drug trafficker from custody, U.S. officials said Thursday.
Clark was arrested days after his release and removed to the United States, where he faces drug trafficking and murder charges. He is charged in a nine-count indictment with being an accessory after the fact. It was not immediately known if he has a lawyer. It’s the latest arrest in the U.S. investigation into a multinational drug trafficking network allegedly run by Wedding, who became a top FBI fugitive accused of moving cocaine from Latin America into the United States and orchestrating several killings. Dozens of people have been arrested in connection with the alleged drug network and authorities seized large volumes of drugs, weapons and cash, as well as millions of dollars worth of automobiles, motorcycles, artwork and jewelry in its investigation.
Luiz Benítez Alcántara was overseeing extradition proceedings in Mexico in 2024 for Canadian citizen Andrew Clark, who was charged in the U.S. with helping to run a billion-dollar drug trafficking group allegedly headed by former Canadian Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding , the Justice Department said in a statement. The statement said Benítez, 49, was arrested Sunday in Colombia.
Benítez is accused of releasing Clark from custody after accepting the bribe payments, according to the statement.
Wedding was arrested in Mexico earlier this year and flown to California, where he pleaded not guilty to murder and drug charges.
