'Key drugs broker' arrested in US

Zhenli Ye Gon, photographed in May at his lawyer's office

Zhenli Ye Gon says he will fight attempts to extradite him to Mexico

US police have arrested a Mexican man of Chinese origin, four months after some $205m (£103m) cash was found in a raid on his Mexico City home.

Zhenli Ye Gon, 41, is accused of conspiring to make methamphetamine, knowing it would be imported into the US.

He is also wanted in Mexico, where he is accused of conspiracy to export drugs to the US and weapons charges.

Mr Ye Gon, who owns a pharmaceutical laboratory, denies all the charges.

Mr Ye Gon was arrested in a restaurant in a suburb of Washington, the US capital, on Monday night.

"With the arrest of Zhenli Ye Gon, we've apprehended not only the man behind the money, but the man behind the meth," said US Drugs Enforcement Agency administrator Karen Tandy.

"He may never have touched the drugs, but he made it all possible, facilitating the trade by brokering chemicals to kingpins."

An alleged co-conspirator, Michelle Wong, was arrested in Las Vegas on charges of conspiring with Mr Ye Gon and laundering large amounts of money.

Hidden in walls

Mr Ye Gon's lawyer said he would fight any attempt to extradite him to Mexico, because the charges were politically motivated.

The businessman, a naturalised Mexican, has claimed that some of the money found in a raid on his home in March belonged to Mexico's ruling party, who forced him to store it there.

Mexican police said at the time the operation had uncovered one of the biggest amounts of cash ever confiscated.

More than $205m (£103m) was found hidden in walls, suitcases and cupboards in the mansion in an upmarket district of Mexico City, together with smaller amounts of euros and Mexican pesos.

Eight cars, seven weapons and machinery for making tablets were also seized, and seven arrests were made on drugs charges.

Prosecutors said the raid was part of an investigation into a pharmaceutical company suspected of importing chemicals to make the drugs from India.

Correspondents say Mexico has become one of the largest producers of methamphetamine since a crackdown on laboratories in the US.

Methamphetamine is a chemical variant of amphetamine with much more powerful effects. Abuse is particularly pr????ent in rural areas of the US.