Sat Feb 15 07:01:28 UTC 2025: ## Wanted European Drug Kingpin Killed in Mexico Shootout
**MEXICO CITY** – Marco Ebben, a 32-year-old Dutch drug kingpin and one of Europe’s most wanted fugitives, was killed in a shootout in Atizapan de Zaragoza, Mexico, on Thursday. Authorities confirmed his identity on Friday.
Ebben, previously convicted in absentia to over seven years in prison for smuggling 400kg of cocaine from Brazil to the Netherlands between 2014 and 2015, had been on the run since October 2020. He was listed by Europol as one of Europe’s most wanted criminals. Last October, he reportedly faked his own death in Culiacan, a stronghold of the Sinaloa Cartel, amidst a violent turf war following the arrest of cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. However, Mexican authorities found no evidence supporting his death claim.
The shootout occurred in a parking lot outside Mexico City. While details surrounding the incident remain scarce, Mexican authorities also announced the arrest of a suspected Sinaloa Cartel trafficker, Humberto Rivera, on Friday. The arrest, along with Ebben’s death, highlights the ongoing volatility within the cartel following Zambada’s arrest. Ebben, in a recent interview, denied involvement in explosions targeting a plumber in Vlaardingen, Netherlands.
First Piper 