1) JoaquÃn Guzmán Loera AKA "El Chapo Guzmán"
(Shorty Guizmán)
Country of operation: Mexico
Downfall: still alive and operating.
He might only be 5ft 6 inches tall, but Loera has been named the biggest drug
lord of all time by the US Drug Enforcement Administration. "The
godfather of the drug world" currently exports cocaine, marijuana,
heroin, and methamphetamine, to the U.S., Asia and Europe. Loera is rumoured
to be hiding in caves since escaping from prison in 2001 via a laundry cart
and the US government has placed a $5 million bounty on his head.
2) Pablo Escobar AKA: "The World's Greatest Outlaw"
Country of operation: Colombia
Downfall: While being chased by the Columbian National police in 1993, the
fugitive attempted to escape by running across the roofs of adjoining houses
to reach a back street but was shot dead.
The Colombian narcoterrorist and drug lord was declared by Forbes magazine in
1989 as the seventh richest man in the world. With an estimated personal
fortune of $25 billion, the ruthless kingpin is said to have controlled
four-fifths of the world's cocaine market. A family man who experienced a
short career in Columbian politics, Escobar was also responsible for
smuggling 15 tons of cocaine a day into America. His campaign of against
challengers resulted in the assassination of 30 judges, over 400 police
officers, and the bombing of Avianca Flight 203, which he believed contained
the Prime Minister at the time.
3) Amando Carrillo Fuentes AKA: "Lord of the Skies"
Country of operation: Mexico
Downfall: Accidentally killed by plastic surgeons in 1997 while undergoing
major medical alterations to his appearance. The surgeons involved were
later found stuffed into oil drums.
Although a refined and diplomatic businessman, at his peak, Fuentes had
Mexico's top drug enforcement official on his payroll. Gaining his nickname
because of the large fleet of planes he used to transport drugs, the
smuggler was transporting four times more cocaine to America than any other
trafficker in the world. Amado's operations were carried out on such a large
scale that he became the most wanted trafficker in the world.
4) Khun Sa AKA: "The Opium King"
Country of operation: Burma
Downfall: Surrendered to the Burmese government, but when they refused to
extradite him, Khun Sa lived the life of luxury until his natural death in
2007.
In the 1960s, the Burmese warlord, along with an 800-man army, began to
cultivate an opium empire in the jungle. Khun Sa, which means "Prince
Prosperous", is also famed as being the world's most prolific heroin
trafficker, producing an estimated one-third of the world's supply.
5) Felix Mitchell AKA: "The Cat"
Country of operation: USA
Downfall: He was stabbed and killed less than two years into serving his
sentence.
Leader of the 69 Mob since he dropped out of high school, Felix Wayne Mitchell
Jr. is credited with creating the country's first large-scale,
gang-controlled drug operation.
His nickname, taken from the cartoon
character Felix the Cat, showed a boyish charm that made him popular with
local youths – as well as employing them as runners and drug spotters.
Thousands of locals turned out on the street to pay their respects at his
funeral procession in 1986, which was likened to the funeral of Martin
Luther King Jr.
6) Arturo Beltrán Leyva AKA: "Boss of Bosses"
Country of operation: Mexico
Downfall: After an attempted assassination from officials at Leyva's own
Christmas party in 2009, he was killed by Mexican Navy intelligence one week
later after a 90-minute shoot-out.
Leader of the Mexican drug trafficking organisation Beltrán Leyva Cartel, the
chief was responsible for the production, transportation and wholesaling of
cocaine, marijuana, heroine and methamphetamine.
The gang have also been blamed for hundreds of cases of contract killing,
torture, kidnapping, human smuggling, money laundering, extortion, murder
and gun-running.
7) Rick Ross AKA: "Freeway"
Country of operation: USA
Downfall: In 1996, Ross was set up by his partner to sell 100 kilos of coke to
an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent.
During the height of his drug dealing in Los Angeles throughout the 1980s, the
shady character claimed to been selling $3 million dollars-worth of crack,
daily. Ross's operation is alleged to have purchased in excess of 400 kilos
of cocaine a week before being sentenced to life imprisonment.
Single-handedly, he is often considered to be responsible for the crack
cocaine epidemic in the US.
8) Griselda Blanco AKA: "The Cocaine Godmother"
Country of operation: USA
Downfall: Blanco's violent methods made her the victim of innumerable
assassination attempts by rivals.
Ruthless, brutal and believed to be psychotic, Blanco loved wearing couture
fashions, smoking crack, and ordering creative, cold-blooded assassinations.
Responsible for an estimated 200 murders, including the shooting of a
two-year-old, Blanco was imprisoned for 20 years. She continued her cocaine
business while behind bars and was released from prison in 2004. Two weeks
ago, the notorious gangster was shot dead by riders on a motorcycle – an
assassination method she had been credited with inventing.
9) Christopher Coke AKA: "Dudus"
Country of operation: Jamaica
Downfall: Coke was detained during a routine roadblock while dressed as a
woman, before handing himself over to the police.
The Jamaican drug kingpin and leader of the ominous Shower Posse gang is said
to have built a fortune of more than $30 billion before his arrest in 2010.
Coke's privileged upbringing meant he went to school with children of the
country's political elite, before taking over his father's gang. He became
the leader of Kingston's Tivoli Gardens, distributing money to the area's
poor, creating employment and setting up community centres while also
exporting of vast quantities of marijuana and cocaine to the US.
10) Frank Lucas AKA: "Superfly"
Country of operation: USA
Downfall: His house was raided in 1975 where more than half a million
dollars-worth of cash was found at the scene. Lucas was arrested and later
sentenced to 70 years in prison for over 100 drug-related convictions.
The heroin dealer and organised crime boss operated in Harlem during the late
1960s and early 1970s. Renowned for buying his supplies direct from sources
in the Golden Triangle Lucas stored the goods in coffins of dead American
servicemen. His career was famously dramatised in the 2007 film, American
Gangster. He was portrayed by Denzel Washington.
