The Mexican Navy said that fugitive drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero was arrested on Friday in the western Sinaloa state by a specially-trained dog called "Max."
Nearly a decade after, he killed a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent in 1985 in the town of Schwickes.
The murder strained US-Mexico ties and condemned American law at the time.
Rafael Caro was one of the primary suppliers of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana to the United States in the 1970s.
Kiki Camarena was kidnapped in Guadalajara, allegedly on orders from Quintero Caro. His tormented body was found a month later.
The Camarena is kkilled, and the homicide investigation was later dramatized in the Netflix series "Narcos Mexico."
Quintero, aged 69, is considered the co-founder of the Guadalajara Cartel and had served 28 years of a 40-year prison sentence for murder and other crimes when he was suddenly released before dawn, following orders from a judge citing administrative reasons. (He should have been tried by a state rather than a federal court).
The country's supreme court later overturned the ruling - but Rafael had already gone into hiding; he quickly returned to drug trafficking.
US officials said he quickly returned to drug trafficking, and Washington subsequently offered $20m for any information leading to his capture.
Mexico's Attorney General's Office said in a statement on Friday that Quintero would be held at the maximum security Altiplano prison west of Mexico City.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said, "There is no hiding place for anyone who kidnaps, tortures, and murders American law enforcement. We are deeply grateful to Mexican authorities for their capture and arrest of Rafael Caro Quintero.
Meanwhile, White House senior Latin America adviser Juan Gonzalez wrote in a tweet : "This is huge."
"It is probably one of the most important captures of the last decade in terms of importance to the DEA," said Mike Vigil, the DEA's former chief of international operations, quoted by.
In its statement, the Mexican Navy also said that 14 of its personnel had died after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in the city of Los Mochis in Sinaloa. The Navy said an investigation was underway, but there was no indication that the crash was related to Quintero's arrest.
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