Rafael Caro Quintero is accused by the United States of ordering the kidnap, torture and murder of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in 1985.

He was arrested that year, tried in Mexico and sentenced to 40 years in prison.

But in 2013, a Mexican court ordered Caro Quintero's release on a legal technicality after he served 28 years.

The decision was overturned by Mexico's supreme court, but Quintero had already gone into hiding.

Caro Quintero has a $20 million bounty on his head and was described by the FBI as "extremely dangerous."

He is accused of co-founding the Guadalajara drug cartel and currently runs an arm of the infamous Sinaloa cartel, according to the DEA.

He was captured by the navy in the northern state of Chihuahua, according to Mexican media.

Last year a Mexican court ruled that Caro Quintero could be extradited to the United States if caught, rejecting an appeal from his lawyers who argued that he had already been tried in a Mexican court.