Mexico’s former top official tasked with going after the cartels was found guilty of taking bribes from El Chapo and his gangs.

Genero Garcia Luna, who was the head of Mexico’s equivalent of the FBI, was convicted on Tuesday in New York after accepting millions of dollars in bribes from the cartels.

Garcia Luna became a target of crime enforcement after he was named in El Chapo’s 2019 trial. He would be arrested at a Dallas airport later that year.

A letter from US attorney for the eastern district of New York Breon Peace to Judge Brian M Cogan outlined the offices, writing: “While holding public office, the defendant used his official positions to assist the Sinaloa Cartel, a notorious Mexican drug cartel, in exchange for multimillion-dollar bribes.”

“In exchange for these bribes, the defendant provided the Sinaloa Cartel with, among other things, safe passage for its drug shipments, sensitive law enforcement information about investigations into the cartel, and information about rival drug cartels,” Peace wrote.

“These payments allowed the cartel at times to receive warnings in advance of law enforcement efforts to apprehend cartel members and to allow cartel members to be released if arrested. During the time that the defendant protected the Sinaloa Cartel in exchange for bribes, the cartel was able to send multi-ton drug loads to the Eastern District of New York, including Brooklyn and Queens,” he added.

Prosecutors also use testimony from cartel operatives who both said that they packed and delivered Garcia Luna with millions in cash. One witness said that he gave Garcia Luna over $14 million in cash, while another said that he packed millions into sports bags and gave payments at a restaurant in Mexico City.

Garcia Luna now faces a minimum of 10 years in prison with a possible maximum sentence of life in prison. He has maintained his innocence throughout the entire trial.