WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One of the most wanted drug lords in the world was captured Wednesday aboard a 43-foot boat in the Pacific Ocean off Mexico, federal law enforcement officials said.
The DEA's Michael Braun said at a news conference that the man captured, Francisco Javier Arellano-Felix is "one of the most ruthless thugs that was involved in drug trafficking around the world."
The DEA lists rewards of $5 million each for the capture of Arellano-Felix and his brother, Eduardo, who allegedly head the violent Tijuana-based cartel that bears their name.
The Arellano-Felix organization was responsible for a recently discovered, elaborately constructed tunnel under the Mexico-California border, law enforcement officials have said.
Federal agents received a tip that the infamous fugitive was to board the vessel Dock Holiday off the coast near La Paz, Bolivia, along with some other key members of the Arellano-Felix organization, officials said.
The Drug Enforcement Administration said the vessel was about 15 miles off the Mexican coast when the U.S. Coast Guard was ordered to intercept it.
Arellano-Felix was traveling under an alias, but eventually confirmed his identity, officials said. Eight other adults and three juveniles also were detained.
Officials said two of the men in custody are believed to be Arturo Villareal-Heredia and Marco Fernandez, both described by the DEA as "assassins" for the Arellano-Felix organization. Authorities said the two will initially be held as material witnesses, but later will be charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics and other counts.
The sources say Arellano-Felix is in the custody of the U.S. Coast Guard, and will be brought ashore in San Diego, where he has been indicted and will be arraigned. His brother and several other alleged cartel members remain at large.
According to the DEA's Web site, members of the Arellano-Felix organization are named in a July 2003 indictment alleging federal racketeering offenses, conspiracy to import marijuana and cocaine and money laundering. The indictment listed 20 murders in the U.S. and Mexico, officials said.
The Arellano Felix Organization, often referred to as the Tijuana Cartel, was considered one of the most powerful and violent drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, according to the DEA's web site.
At the height of its power, the cartel was responsible for the transportation, importation, and distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine, marijuana, and large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine into the United States from Mexico--primarily from Tijuana into San Diego and Los Angeles, the DEA says.
At the beginning of 2002, the cartel was dealt two blows, according to the DEA.
Ramon Arellano Felix, described as the cartel's enforcer and assassin, died in a street fight with drug trafficking competitors and Mexican police. A month later, Benjamin Arellano-Felix, who the DEA says played the role of the cartel's CEO, was arrested in Puebla, Mexico, by the Mexican Military.
At the time, Braun said, the DEA described the loss of two cartel leaders as "the beginning of the end" for the organization. With Javier Arellano-Felix's capture, he added, "We've got this organization in a chokehold."
Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty is expected to formally announce the arrest later this afternoon at a Justice Department news conference in Washington, where he will be joined by representatives of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Coast Guard.