Mexican Mayor Faces Trafficking Charges in N.Y.

The newly elected mayor of a Mexican city in the country's southwestern part of the state of Puebla was returned to New York yesterday to face charges of trafficking multikilogram quantities of cocaine into the United States.

Ruben Gil, 41, who was elected in November, is charged with participating in a "far-reaching narcotics trafficking conspiracy" that involved the transportation and delivery of cocaine to co-conspirators in the New York metropolitan area in 2006 and 2007.

"This arrest exemplifies the commitment of global law enforcement to identify and arrest those individuals responsible for trafficking cocaine into New York," said Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge John P. Gilbride, who heads the agency's New York office.

Mr. Gil was arrested in California on March 23 as he tried to fly into Los Angeles. His name was on a watch list because of his suspected drug-trafficking activity.

According to an indictment returned in December in U.S. District Court in Manhattan and statements made during a bail hearing in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Mr. Gil and co-defendant Martin N. Garcia arranged for the delivery of 11 kilograms of cocaine to New York in November and more than 22 kilograms of cocaine to New York in June 2006.

In addition, as detailed during the bail hearing, Mr. Gil is responsible for the trafficking and delivery of additional large shipments of cocaine over the course of several years — often hiding the cocaine inside tractor-trailer trucks used by a national moving company controlled by Mr. Gil.

In March 2004, the DEA seized 150 kilograms of cocaine that had been transported by a truck bearing the name "Gil Moving & Storage," which was being driven by Mr. Gil's brother, Eduardo.

If convicted, Mr. Gil faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. He is scheduled to appear today in U.S. District Court in New York.

"The arrest of Ruben Gil, charged with transporting significant quantities of cocaine within the United States, is the result of extraordinary cooperation of international law-enforcement partners, and our commitment to investigate and prosecute narcotics traffickers," said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Garcia in New York, whose office will prosecute the case.

Alejandro Armenta Mier, the state leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), said Mr. Gil's arrest will not have a political cost for the party because his actions were personal acts and not party related. In an interview with Mexican reporters, he said the PRI would seek the full weight of the law if Mr. Gil is found guilty.