“Char” for Borderland Beat
This information was posted by EXCELSIOR
Luis Octavio was ‘Lupe Tapia’s’ bodyguard and was killed in a confrontation in the early morning hours.
WRITTEN BY: JESUS BUSTAMANTE
DECEMBER 2, 2024
One of the bodyguards of Guadalupe Tapia, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada’s operator, was shot and killed in a fight inside the Culiacan prison, where four other men were wounded.
He is Luis Octavio Rocha, 45 years old, originally from the Tacuichamona syndicate, the same place where “Lupe Tapia” was arrested in February 2023, during an operation by the armed forces.
The confrontation was reported early this morning, leaving one dead and four wounded; one was left in the medical attention area of the prison and the other three needed to be transferred to a hospital, where at least one is reported to be in serious condition.
The Secretariat of Public Security confirmed that several weapons, municipalities, drugs, communication radios and some 146 thousand pesos in cash were seized, but the search continues.
One of “Lupe Tapia’s” BODYGUARD
Luis Octavio was one of the five bodyguards arrested for “Lupe Tapia,” from whom six long arms, a Barret rifle, four short arms, and portions of cocaine and fentanyl were seized, authorities reported at the time.
Guadalupe Tapia was considered one of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada’s main operators and synthetic drug traffickers, who was accused of trafficking and laundering money for the Sinaloa Cartel.
However, the five people arrested at his home, located more than 100 kilometers south of the city, were detained in the Culiacán prison, but nothing had been heard from them since then.
In the specific case of Luis Octavio, the authorities accused him of carrying a firearm for the exclusive use of the armed forces, cartridges, magazines, and crimes against health and with the aggravating circumstance of gang membership.