By Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
October 2, 2014 -- Updated 0257 GMT (1057 HKT)
Read this article in Spanish at CNNMexico.com
(CNN) -- Troops closed in on one of Mexico's most wanted drug lords Wednesday, nabbing him at a seafood restaurant in a popular tourist destination.
Members of the Mexican Army didn't fire a single shot when they captured Hector Beltran Leyva in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, officials said.
His arrest came after 11 months of investigation as intelligence officials traced his path, Tomas Zeron de Lucio, the director of criminal investigation for Mexico's Attorney General's Office, told reporters.
Mexican authorities were offering a reward of more than $2 million for information leading to his capture. And the U.S. State Department's Narcotics Rewards Program had been offering a reward of up to $5 million.
Beltran Leyva, who led a cartel by the same name, had been living a discreet, low-profile life in Mexico's Queretaro state, ditching fancy cars and other trappings of luxury to appear as a simple businessman, Zeron said.
But in reality, Zeron said, Beltran Leyva was 'one of the main leaders of drug trafficking in Mexico' and headed 'a large network of corruption and money laundering.'
He rose to power after Mexican marines killed his brother in a 2009 raid that the head of the DEA described as a 'crippling blow to one of the most violent cartels in the world.'
Nicknames for the kingpin included 'The Engineer' and 'The H.'
According to security experts, the cartel had regrouped after the dramatic 2009 operation and developed alliances with the Zetas and the Juarez Cartel.
The State Department has said the cartel was responsible for transporting weapons and ammunition to Mexico from the United States, and trafficking in cocaine, marijuana, heroine and methamphetamine.
CNN en Español's Krupskaia Alis and CNNMexico.com contributed to this report.
Entities 0 Name: Mexico Count: 6 1 Name: Beltran Leyva Count: 2 2 Name: Zeron Count: 2 3 Name: CNN Count: 2 4 Name: Catherine E. Shoichet Count: 1 5 Name: San Miguel de Allende Count: 1 6 Name: U.S. State Department Count: 1 7 Name: DEA Count: 1 8 Name: Queretaro Count: 1 9 Name: State Department Count: 1 10 Name: Español Count: 1 11 Name: United States Count: 1 12 Name: Tomas Zeron de Lucio Count: 1 13 Name: Juarez Cartel Count: 1 14 Name: Zetas Count: 1 15 Name: Hector Beltran Leyva Count: 1 16 Name: Mexican Army Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/1prfbfZ Title: Mexico's explanation of army's slaying of 22 suspects raises more questions than answers Description: For more than two months, Mexico did little to explain how a Mexican army patrol escaped practically unharmed from a gunfight that left 22 suspected criminals dead in a grain warehouse. This week, officials changed their story to say soldiers may have committed murder, but questions about the lop-sided confrontation remain.
