Sanchez is accused of importing and trafficking large amounts of drugs for several criminal gangs.
The US State Department had a US $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Sanchez, who allegedly smuggled 76 tons cocaine into the United States between 2000 and 2003.
State officials say that he is the leader of the Tirso Martinez-Sanchez drug trafficking organization which funneled cocaine from Colombia to Mexico and then throughout the United States.
Sanchez is believed to have established a network of front companies that purchased legitimate “cover loads” to mask the shipment of narcotics through ocean vessels, tractor-trailers, and railroad tanker cars.
According to BBC, investigators believe he has links to Mexican drug lords Amado Carrillo Fuentes, and Arturo Beltran Leyva, and Colombian brothers Victor and Miguel Mejia Munera.
