MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – Seven of the 22 people detained in connection with the escape of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman from a maximum security prison have been taken into custody, the office of Mexico’s Attorney General informs.
The suspects, who are all Altiplano prison employees, gave false evidence when questioned about El Chapo’s escape from the correctional facility earlier this week and were likely involved in organizing the escape, the attorney general’s office said on Friday.
On Monday, Mexican Attorney General Arely Gomez said the country was ready to pay 60 million Mexican pesos (almost $4 million) for information on Guzman’s whereabouts.
Interpol has issued a red notice for El Chapo, who escaped from the Altiplano maximum security prison in Mexico on Sunday, through a 1.5-kilometer (0.6-mile) tunnel from his prison cell shower.
This is the 4,921 ft tunnel that Mexican cartel leader "El Chapo" Guzman used to esc… (Vine by @nowthisnews) https://t.co/fbvlFK9dDU
— Kyle Kalbfleisch (@KyleKalbfleisch) July 17, 2015
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has reportedly promised to punish with "the full weight of the law" those participated in the Guzman's escape.
El Chapo ("Shorty") Guzman, 58, is the chief of the Sinaloa drug cartel, which is responsible for a major portion of marijuana, cocaine and heroin sold in the United States. The drug empire has allowed Guzman to accumulate a major fortune, which was estimated to be some $1 billion in 2009.
Guzman was jailed at Altiplano in February 2014. Earlier, in 2001, he escaped from another Mexican maximum security prison in a laundry cart, after spending eight years in custody.
