Six people believed responsible for the escape from prison of drug baron Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, including his brother-in-law and the suspected mastermind of the jail break, have been arrested, Mexican authorities have said.

Attorney general Arely Gomez said the alleged mastermind of the operation is a member of Guzman’s legal team who had access to the prison near Mexico City from which Guzman escaped via a tunnel in July.

He was able to keep Guzman informed of the operation’s progress and receive instructions. The person also purportedly relayed orders and payments to others involved in the escape.

Other suspects arrested included Guzman’s brother-in-law, who is believed to have supervised construction of the mile-long (1.5-kilometer) escape tunnel and organised transportation; a person who negotiated the purchase of the plot of land where the tunnel emerged; and a pilot.

Gomez confirmed that after the escape from Altiplano prison, the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel boss traveled by land to the city of Queretaro where officials say he caught a small plane to a mountainous area of Sinaloa, his home state and stronghold.

“Today we are able to affirm that the group responsible for planning, organising and carrying out the escape from outside the prison has been broken up,” Gomez said.



The attorney general added that two Cessna aircraft left from Queretaro. She did not give details or take questions, but a federal official who was not authorised to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity said one of the flights was apparently a ruse to throw any pursuers off the scent. Authorities recently detained a second pilot in the case.

Gomez did not name any of the suspects but said they planned, organised and carried out the jailbreak in cahoots with officials inside the maximum-security lockup.

About 23 prison officials and employees have also been arrested and some face criminal charges.

Guzman’s escape was his second brazen flight from prison and made him once-again Mexico’s most-wanted fugitive.

In 2001, he slipped out of another maximum-security facility, purportedly hidden in a laundry cart.

Security agents have focused their manhunt on Sinaloa and neighbouring Durango state in recent weeks. Officials say Guzman was injured in the leg and face while fleeing the dragnet there.