Colombia captures synthetic-drug distributing tsar

Colombian police authorities announced Wednesday they had captured Hector Alonso Castro, believed to be the country's largest distributor of synthetic drugs, the media reported.

There were no details as for when or where Castro, 38, was caught. Castro was also accused of charges including ordering several killings, Xinhua quoted RCN Radio network as saying.

Hector Alonso Castro, leader of a vast criminal gang known as Los Urabenos, was the main marketer of 2CB, a psychedelic drug commonly known as "pink cocaine", which is highly addictive and sells for about $75 per dose.

The drug, which was reportedly processed at clandestine laboratories in Cali city and towns in Colombia's coffee-growing region, all located in western part of the country, is marketed to adolescents and is turning into a major new source of income for the country's criminal rings, officials say.

Colombia's National Police say they had seized 15,890 doses of the drug so far this year.