One of Europe’s most wanted drug lords, Marco Ebben, has been shot and killed in Mexico after years of evading capture. The 32-year-old Dutch national, who previously faked his own death to avoid arrest, was gunned down near Mexico City this week.
Ebben had been on Europol’s most wanted list due to his involvement in international drug trafficking. He was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2020 for smuggling 400 kilograms of cocaine hidden in pineapple containers between Brazil and the Netherlands from 2014 to 2015. However, after his conviction in October 2020, he went into hiding and fled Europe, prompting an international manhunt.
Authorities believe he had been living in Mexico under a false identity since 2023 and had close ties to the Sinaloa Cartel. Last October, he reportedly faked his own death in Culiacán, a cartel stronghold, attempting to mislead law enforcement amid a violent power struggle between cartel factions.
Though details of his killing remain unclear, officials suspect he was targeted by rival criminals. A photo allegedly shows his body lying in a parking lot within a high-end residential complex in Atizapán de Zaragoza.
Ebben’s demise follows the recent arrest of another cartel figure, Luis Grijalba, in the UK. Grijalba, wanted in the U.S. for cocaine trafficking from Costa Rica, was tracked down after his wife posted about their lavish travels online. He has previously survived two assassination attempts, including one in which seven of his associates were killed while he hid behind a tree.
