Original 'Cocaine Cowboy' is arrested after 26 YEARS on the run

Gustavo Falcon, 55, was arrested Wednesday in Kissimmee, Florida
He was on a bike ride with his wife at the time of his arrest by US Marshals
Back in 1991, he was indicted for trafficking cocaine from Colombia to South Florida along with his brother, Willy Falcon, and co-defendant Sal Magluta
Authorities had accused the trio of smuggling 75 tons of cocaine, worth more than $2billion, into the United States between 1978 and 1991
Willy and Magluta were acquitted in 1996 of the charges after it was discovered they bought off witnesses and at least one jury member
In 2003, Willy struck a plea deal with federal prosecutors on money-laundering charges and was sentenced to 20 years in prison; he is to be released in June
Magluta was retried and convicted in 2002; he was sentenced to 205 years in prison but that was reduced in 2006 to 195 years
Gustavo, who was nicknamed 'Tabby', had been a fugitive until his capture on Wednesday
Authorities said he did not resist arrest and even admitted to his real identity
The last original 'Cocaine Cowboy' drug dealer was arrested while out on a bike ride with his wife following decades on the run after he was unmasked as one of the richest drug dealers in American history.

Gustavo Falcon was arrested by US Marshals in Kissimmee, Florida, despite a series of rumors about his whereabouts including that he had fled to Cuba.

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The last original 'Cocaine Cowboy' drug dealer was arrested while out on a bike ride with his wife following decades on the run after he was unmasked as one of the richest drug dealers in American history.

Gustavo Falcon was arrested by US Marshals in Kissimmee, Florida, despite a series of rumors about his whereabouts including that he had fled to Cuba.

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Along with his brother Augusto 'Willy' Falcon and accomplice Salvador 'Sal' Malgluta, Gustavo formed the original Cocaine Cowboys in the 1980s – notorious playboy drug dealers who were known for racing powerboats, owning mansions and flying in private jets.

After dropping out of high school to deal drugs, they collectively smuggled at least $2billion of cocaine into the US and were one of the top five drug dealing networks in US history.

Magluta and Willy were eventually convicted and are serving time in federal prison, but Gustavo went on the run.

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Gustavo Falcon (pictured in arrest photo), 56, was arrested Wednesday in Florida after being on the run for 26 years

He is pictured above in 1990

Back in 1991, he was indicted for trafficking cocaine from Colombia to South Florida along with his drug kingpin brother, Willy Falcon (right), and co-defendant Sal Magluta (left).

Authorities had accused the trio, who were high school dropouts, of smuggling 75 tons of cocaine, worth more than $2billion, into the United States between 1978 and 1991. Pictured above is Maglua (left) and Willy (right)

Falcon is pictured above
Gustavo was captured by a team of U.S. Marshals from Miami that traveled to the city in central Florida, NBC Miami reported.

The 55-year-old, who at one point owned his own powerboat team, was booked at the Orange County Jail at 6:24pm on Wednesday.

'He is the last of the 'Cocaine Cowboys,' said Barry Golden, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Office in Miami told the Miami Herald.

During his arrest on Wednesday, federal officials said Gustavo had fake driver's licenses dating back to 1997 that used fake addresses in Miami in his possession.

He also had fake licenses for his wife, Amelia, and children, who are now aged in their 30s, authorities said.

Golden said the couple went by the name of Luis Reiss and Maria Reiss.

He explained that back in 2013 they caught a break when Gustavo was involved in a car accident, and he used his fake identification with the Miami address.


They used their speedboats to haul billions of dollars of cocaine to Miami from Colombian drug cartels. Pictured above is one of their speedboats

In addition, they were well-known figures in the local speedboat racing circles as they could often be spotted racing their powerful and fast boats in South Florida. Pictured above left is their speedboat Seahawk

Prosecutors say the trio had once operated the largest cocaine smuggling organization on the East Coast and one of the top five in the world. Above authorities seize drugs related to the group
Authorities say Gustavo and his family had been renting a home in the Kissimmee area, as it was under surveillance by the Marshals Office for some time before his arrest Wednesday.

Since 1999, Gustavo and his family had been living in the Orlando area which surprised authorities as it had long been thought he fled the country to Cuba, Mexico or Colombia.

'We figured this all out a month ago,' Golden said. 'We pulled their drivers' licenses and saw it was the same Gustavo Falcon.'

Gustavo did not resist at all during his arrest and even confessed to his real identity, authorities said.

He is set to make his first court appearance on Thursday in federal court.

Dating back to the 1980s, the two brothers and Magluta were well-known figures in the local speedboat racing circles as they could often be spotted racing their powerful and fast boats in South Florida.


At the time, authoritie said they laundered their profits through offshore bank accounts and dummy corporations established in the Bahamas, the Netherlands Antilles, and the Republic of Panama. Above authorities seize drugs related to the group

Willy and Magluta (pictured in 1991) were acquitted in 1996 of the charges after it was discovered they bought off witnesses and at least one jury member
In 1986, Willy won the Offshore Challengee off the Florida Keys while Magluta won three national championships.

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Magluta was also a member of the commission that oversaw the American Power Boat Association.

'They were like gods in the doper community,' Sean Convoy, a then-supervisor for the U.S. Marshals Service in Miami, told the Miami New Times in 1992.

'All the other smugglers talked about how invincible they were. All you'd hear was, `Willy and Sal this' and `Willy and Sal that.'

'I don't think there was a police agency here that didn't have something going at some time to try and catch them.'

Authorities had accused the trio, who were high school dropouts and childhood friends, of smuggling 75 tons of cocaine, worth more than $2billion, into the United States between 1978 and 1991 using their speedboats to haul the drugs to Miami from Colombian drug cartels.

At the time, authorities said they laundered their profits through offshore bank accounts and dummy corporations established in the Bahamas, the Netherlands Antilles, and the Republic of Panama.

Gustavo, who was nicknamed 'Taby', was last seen in South Florida in 1991 shortly before he was indicted.


Willy and Magluta were acquitted in 1996 of the charges after it was discovered they bought off witnesses and at least one jury member.

In addition, the trial was also complicated when several witnesses were killed by a Colombian hitman.

Despite facing decades in prison if they were convicted on the hefty charges they faced, Willy and Magluta were still living an expensive lifestyle that included a Lear jet, their powerboat racing team, Vail ski vacations, at least a kilo of gold, South Florida waterfront mansions and Las Vegas junkets.

Plus, they still continued to smuggle cocaine even while on the run.

But in 2003, Willy struck a plea deal with federal prosecutors in Miami on money-laundering charges.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison and is scheduled to be released in June.

During his sentencing, U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz called him a 'gentleman' and wished him 'all the best.'


Above is the wanted flyer issued by U.S. Marshals for Falcon showing that he is wanted for the possession of cocaine
'Each day is the beginning of the rest of your life,' Seitz told Willy.

'Your actions also impact far beyond your family, to other families who have suffered addictions.

'Your conduct over the years feeds that.'

The judge placed him on three years' probation when he is released and he was ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.

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However, since he was born in Cuba, he could be deported or held indefinitely by immigration officials once he completes sentence.

Magluta was retried and convicted in 2002 of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

But he was acquitted of orchestrating the murders of three cooperating government witnesses, including a lawyer gunned down in his office, and the attempted murder of a fourth.

Magluta was sentenced to 205 years in prison but that was reduced in 2006 to 195 years.

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tay1 said:

There came a time in which he stopped running

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301216baller said:

The fact hes only 26 is mind blowing...idc what anyone says he played the game and won

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Maximus Meridius said:

I thought this was gonna be about Mickey Monday

He's 55.

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