Ex-Athletic Bilbao player Jesús Díez arrested after 9 years on the run: smuggled 950 kg of cocaine into Spain
Yasmine Green
Dailysports's expert
Translated by the editors
Former Athletic Bilbao footballer Jesús Díez de Mier, better known as Txutxi, has been captured after evading justice for nine years, reports Bild.
Txutxi was first arrested in Madrid in 2009 on charges of drug trafficking. Between 2008 and 2009, the ex-footballer, along with accomplices, smuggled 950 kg of cocaine from Argentina into Spain. The seized drugs were valued at €32 million.
In 2014, Txutxi was sentenced to nine years in prison, set to begin in 2015. However, he managed to escape and had been on the run ever since.
His evasion came to an end this past Sunday when he was apprehended during a routine identity check. After police suspected he provided false information, he was taken to a station where his true identity was confirmed. Txutxi will now begin serving his sentence.
Txutxi made his debut for Athletic Bilbao in 1992. In the 1995/96 season, he played 10 matches in La Liga but spent most of his career with various clubs in Spain's Segunda División. He retired from professional football in 2005 at the age of 32.
