The infamous drug kingpin known as "El Chapo" has been captured after nearly six months on the run, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said Friday.
Joaquín Guzmán Loera, the leader of the Sinaloa cartel, escaped from a maximum security prison near Mexico City in July by climbing down a hole in his cell that connected to an elaborate tunnel system.
A Mexican law enforcement official said authorities located Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman several days ago, based on reports that he was in Los Mochis, Sinaloa.
Authorities even searched storm drains in the area, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Mexican news outlets shared what was purportedly the first photos of Guzman after his arrest.
#LAFOTO | Se filtra en redes presunta imagen del traslado de "El #Chapo Guzmán" https://t.co/XwJuG2QgNd pic.twitter.com/mm8C9fxlNe— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) January 8, 2016
Circula otra presunta fotografía del #ChapoGuzmán después de su captura. pic.twitter.com/FhTwKmuIp4— El Mañana de Valles (@elmananavalles) January 8, 2016
Guzman was captured following a shootout during a raid on a home in the city of Los Mochis, according to a government press release. Five people were killed in the raid, and six people were arrested.
Police confiscated eight rifles, one handgun and ammunition, one rocket launcher and two rockets.
President Nieto tweeted a message of victory to the country, "Mission accomplished: We have him. I want to inform Mexicans Joaquín Guzmán Loera has been arrested."
Misión cumplida: lo tenemos. Quiero informar a los mexicanos que Joaquín Guzmán Loera ha sido detenido.— Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN) January 8, 2016
Guzman escaped from the Altiplano maximum security prison near Mexico City in July, riding a motorcycle through a mile-long tunnel that opened into the shower area of his cell. He was last seen on security footage taken in the shower area of the prison, before slipping out of sight and into the tunnel.
It was not the first time El Chapo had escaped prison and evaded police though, this time, his freedom was short lived.
Guzman was arrested in Guatemala in 1993 on drug-trafficking charges, before being extradited to Mexico and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was sent to the Puente Grande maximum security prison in Jalisco state, from which he escaped with the help of prison guards, allegedly by hiding in a laundry cart.
What followed what a 13-year police chase that culminated in Guzman's capture in Mazatlán, Mexico, in February 2014.
U.S. and Mexican officials initially reveled in his capture, hailing it as an achievement in Mexico's battle against drug cartels. But just one month after he was locked up, Guzmán and his associates on the outside were already planning his escape.
Additional information from the Associated Press.