Drug kingpin arrested in UK after wife posted lavish vacation photos online, giving away his location

A highly sought-after drug kingpin was apprehended when officials traced his wife’s social media presence and pinpointed his location during their lavish European vacation. Luis Manuel Picado Grijalba (43) was arrested at a London airport in December; he was accused of shipping cocaine from Limón, Costa Rica to the US, Nicaragua’s La Prensa reported. Grijalba, known by his alias “Shock,” had been wanted by the US Drug Enforcement Administration for several months due to his alleged involvement in international drug trafficking, stated Randall Zúñiga, the director of Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department (OIJ). The alleged kingpin who rarely travelled with his 32-year-old wife reportedly purchased $20,000 worth of plane tickets to fly his wife and family to Europe. Grijalba, a naturalized Costa Rican citizen, met his wife in Paris and had plans to ring in the New Year with his family in England before his arrest. To document the vacation, Grijalba’s wife, Estefania McDonald Rodriguez, made several posts to a now-deleted Instagram account during her European travels, according to The Sun. One post captured the couple posing underneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Zúñiga noted that Rodriguez frequently travelled abroad, she often posted about her escapades across various social media platforms, the outlet added. She boasted of vacations on sunny beaches where she was seen holding two parrots and in Rome, where she sat before the famed Trevi Fountain.

DEA agents, who had been tracking Grijabla since he took off from Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaría Airport, utilized the couple’s post in Paris to pinpoint the suspected drug kingpin’s location, as reported by Costa Rican outlet Teletica. The arrest was approved after the DEA secured an international warrant. The American agency desired to capture Grijabla in Europe rather than Costa Rica because the Central American nation prohibits the extradition of its citizens.

Grijabla appeared in court the day following his arrest and is currently contesting his extradition to the US, where he could potentially face a lengthy jail sentence, the Sun reported. Costa Rica’s Attorney General, Carlo Diaz, praised the DEA’s efforts, however, he noted that his office did not have any charges against Grijabla.