Mexico captures leader of Beltran Leyva drug cartel

Pictures of the head of the Beltran Leyva drug cartel Hector Beltran Leyva are seen displayed on a television screen during a news conference at the Attorney General's Office building in Mexico City October 1, 2014, in this handout courtesy of the office.[Photo/Agencies]

MEXICO CITY - Mexico's Ministry of National Defense announced the capture of Hector Beltran Leyva, the alleged leader of the Beltran Leyva drug cartel on Wednesday, according to local media.

Beltran was arrested by army troops working in conjunction with the national Attorney General's Office. Authorities were running DNA tests on the suspect to confirm his identity.

As the last of the Beltran brothers to remain at large, Beltran reportedly took over as cartel leader after his brother, Arturo Beltran, died in 2009 in a gunfight with the authorities.

Previously, the federal government was offering a 30-million-peso (2.2-million-US-dollar) reward for Beltran's capture while the U.S. government was offering 5 million dollars.

His another brother, Carlos Beltran Leyva, was caught in Mexico's northern state of Sinaloa in 2010, on charges of money laundering.