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Mexico arrests suspected Hungarian drug trafficker amid crime crackdown
TL;DR
Mexico has arrested Janos Balla, a Hungarian drug trafficker on the EU's most wanted list, during a crime crackdown. He was detained in Quintana Roo and has a six-year prison sentence in the EU for drug smuggling.
Key points
- Janos Balla is a Hungarian drug trafficker.
- He was arrested in Quintana Roo, Mexico.
- Balla is on the EU's most wanted fugitives list.
- He has a six-year prison sentence in the EU.
- His arrest involved collaboration with Hungarian authorities.
Mentioned in this story
Janos BallaInterpolEuropean UnionQuintana Roo
The Mexican government has arrested a suspected drug trafficker featured on the European Union’s “most wanted fugitives” list, as it attempts to crack down on criminal operations within its borders.
On Saturday, Mexico’s Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch announced that 48-year-old Hungarian citizen Janos Balla, who goes by the alias “Daniel Takacs”, had been detained in the southern state of Quintana Roo.
In the EU, Balla has been sentenced to six years in prison for smuggling narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
According to Garcia Harfuch, Balla was the subject of an Interpol red notice, which calls on law enforcement authorities around the world to assist with the arrest of a suspect.
In a joint statement, the Mexican agencies involved in the arrest credited their collaboration with Hungarian authorities for helping to secure Balla’s arrest.
“Based on the exchange of information with Hungarian security agencies, as well as intelligence and investigative work, [Balla’s] mobility zone was identified in the municipality of Benito Juarez, where a coordinated operation was implemented, resulting in his arrest on Politecnico Avenue,” it said.
The statement added that Balla was placed in the custody of Mexico’s National Institute of Migration, “in order to determine his immigration status and continue his controlled deportation process to Europe”.
Saturday’s was the latest high-profile arrest under President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has sought to pivot away from the “hugs, not bullets” philosophy of her predecessor and political mentor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Her administration has taken a harder line on combatting drug trafficking and other cartel activity in Mexico, particularly in the wake of pressure from her counterpart in the United States, President Donald Trump.
Having labelled several Mexican cartels “foreign terrorist organisations”, Trump has repeatedly threatened to take military action in the country, despite outcry that such a move would violate Mexican sovereignty.
He has also used tariffs on Mexican exports as economic leverage to ensure compliance with his anti-drug push.
“We have to eradicate them,” Trump said of Mexico’s cartels in March. “We have to knock the hell out of them because they’re getting worse. They’re taking over their country. The cartels are running Mexico. We can’t have that.”
But Sheinbaum’s government has pointed to an uptick in cartel arrests as proof of the efficacy of their strategy.
Q&A
Who is Janos Balla and what charges does he face?
Janos Balla, also known as Daniel Takacs, is a Hungarian citizen sentenced to six years in prison for smuggling narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
What led to the arrest of Janos Balla in Mexico?
Balla was arrested as part of Mexico's crackdown on crime, aided by collaboration with Hungarian authorities and an Interpol red notice.
Where was Janos Balla arrested in Mexico?
Janos Balla was detained in the southern state of Quintana Roo.
What is an Interpol red notice and how does it relate to Balla's case?
An Interpol red notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, which was issued for Janos Balla.
