WATCH the moment Ecuador’s most-wanted fugitive, a drug lord dubbed “The Lion”, is recaptured by police beneath a trap door.
José Adolfo Macías Villamar, commonly known as Fito, had been evading capture for a year-and-a-half following his dramatic escape from prison in January 2024. His breakout ignited a surge of unrest across the nation.
Footage of Wednesday’s arrest shows Fito pinned to the ground on his front surrounded by a swarm of heavily-armed cops.
He calmly repeats his name at the orders of officers who bind his hands with cable ties and aim a pistol at his head.
Another clip shows where the narco kingpin was discovered hiding.
A huge slab of false floor slides back to reveal a hidden chamber extending through the house’s foundations.
Cops filmed themselves lowering into the cramped space and showed off the tight air-conditioned bunker which had concealed him.
Authorities ultimately apprehended Fito at his girlfriend’s lavish residence while she was incarcerated, with his three-year-old daughter unintentionally revealing his hideout.
Before escaping, the convict had been serving a 34-year sentence for organised crime, drug trafficking and murder.
His jailbreak sparked a surge in gang violence across Mexico which left at least 20 people dead.
The country’s president, Daniel Noboa, declared a 60-day state of emergency in multiple provinces following the escalation.
Fito evaded the authorities for eighteen months, despite a massive-scale operation to pin him down.
Several members of his family were arrested a month ago, and many of their assets were confiscated in raids as the authorities tightened the screw.
John Reimberg, the country’s interior minister, described the sting as a “psychological operation”.
The trail to Fito began when it was noticed that a city transport official had stopped turning up to work – arousing suspicions.
Tailing him led the police to Fito’s inner circle, according to the national police commander.
They noticed he frequently visited a swanky three-story building complete with a huge swimming pool, a fully-equipped gym and a games room.
There were reportedly brand new sofas still wrapped in plastic and TVs still in their boxes.
The decisive tip that Fito would be present during the police operation was inadvertently provided by his young daughter, as stated by police commander Víctor Ordóñez.
In a ten-hour operation, a huge cordon was put in place in the surrounding streets and drones buzzed around the give cops a 360 view.
After a fine-tooth search, Fito was finally snared in an air-conditioned bunker accessed through a trap door beneath the kitchen sink.
When the teams brought in heavy excavation equipment, Fito realised he could be crushed to death and scarpered out.
Reimberg said: “When this happened, Fito panicked.
“He opened the hatch where military and police personnel were located and left the hole.”
Within minutes, he was on the ground with guns pointed at his head and being forced to repeat his name out loud.
He is now threatened with extradition to the US.
