Police in Mexico have arrested a suspected drug lord of one of the country’s most powerful cartels.

Carlos Beltran Leyva was captured on Wednesday but details of his detention have only just emerged.

The 40-year-old is one of five brothers who allegedly ran Mexico’s Beltran Leyva cartel, notorious for its grisly killings and big shipments of cocaine and Marijuana to the US.

Last month, Arturo Beltran Leyva, otherwise known as ‘the boss of bosses’, was killed in a navy-led operation in a Hollywood-style shoot-out.

He was one of Mexico’s most wanted drugs barons and it remains unclear whether his brother Carlos Beltran Leyva took over following the death. His arrest is being seen as a major victory for the government.

Despite deploying thousands of troops, killings by drug gangs reached an unprecedented 7,000 last year alone.

Copyright © 2012 euronews