Alleged Drug Kingpin Caught After Wife's European Vacation Photos Reveal His Location

[Eugene]

Source: VIBE.com

Alleged Drug Kingpin Caught After Wife’s European Vacation Photos Reveal His Location

BY AMBER CORRINE January 28, 2025 1:29pm

Suspected Central American drug kingpin Luis Manuel Picado Grijalba — a.k.a “Shock” — was arrested while on a lavish European vacation with his family—aided by an unlikely source: his wife’s social media.

Grijalba, 43, had been on the radar of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for months due to his alleged role in shipping cocaine from Limón, Costa Rica, to the United States, New York Post reports. His arrest, however, was not the result of an undercover sting, but a string of Instagram posts that connected authorities to his UK whereabouts.

His wife, Estefania McDonald Rodriguez, frequently documented their luxurious trip on social media, showing them beneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris, sunbathing on beaches, holding two parrots, and even seated before Rome’s famed Trevi Fountain. The 32-year-old’s now-deleted posts provided law enforcement with an easy-to-follow trail, allowing them to anticipate the couple’s next move and act swiftly.

Once his location was discovered, a warrant was approved by the DEA to arrest him in Europe rather than his home of Costa Rica, “where extradition laws would have complicated proceedings.”

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Read more: https://www.vibe.com/news/national/drug-kingpin-caught-wifes-vacation-photos-reveal-location-1234984399/