Suspected Central American drug kingpin Luis Manuel Picado Grijalba — a.k.a “Shock” — was arrested while on a lavish European vacation with his family—aided by an unlikely source: his wife’s social media.
Grijalba, 43, had been on the radar of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for months due to his alleged role in shipping cocaine from Limón, Costa Rica, to the United States, New York Post reports. His arrest, however, was not the result of an undercover sting, but a string of Instagram posts that connected authorities to his UK whereabouts.
His wife, Estefania McDonald Rodriguez, frequently documented their luxurious trip on social media, showing them beneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris, sunbathing on beaches, holding two parrots, and even seated before Rome’s famed Trevi Fountain. The 32-year-old’s now-deleted posts provided law enforcement with an easy-to-follow trail, allowing them to anticipate the couple’s next move and act swiftly.
Once his location was discovered, a warrant was approved by the DEA to arrest him in Europe rather than his home of Costa Rica, “where extradition laws would have complicated proceedings.”
According to The Sun, Grijalba had splurged on $20,000 worth of plane tickets to bring his family to Europe for the New Year. However, the trip was cut short when he was intercepted at a London airport and immediately taken into custody. Appearing in court the following day, he was hit with possible extradition to the United States, where he could face a long prison sentence.
Costa Rica’s Attorney General, Carlo Díaz, acknowledged the significance of Grijalba’s capture, but admitted his office had no charges against him. “For us, it is also an important capture because we had not yet been able to attribute any criminal act to him in our country, but I repeat, he has been linked in some investigations to drug trafficking in Limón,” Díaz stated to the news.
Grijalba remains in custody as his extradition battle unfolds. His wife has since erased her social media pages.
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