El Chapo Captured While Trying to Make ‘Narcos’-Style Biopic of His Life

Notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who had been on the run since his escape from prison last summer, was recaptured by Mexican authorities after he attempted to contact filmmakers about producing a Narcos-style biopic about his life.

The fugitive leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel had been on the lam since July, when he escaped from a maximum security prison by using a mile-long tunnel and a railcar powered by a motorbike.

He was spotted on Thursday at a residence in the town of Los Mochis in northwestern Mexico, and he was arrested the next day following a firefight with authorities.

Mexico’s Attorney General Arely Gomez Gonzalez said during a press conference after the arrest that an “important element in determining Chapo’s whereabouts was finding out that he wanted to film an autobiographical film,” NBC reports.

Gomez added that some time after Guzman’s daring prison escape, he and his associates had “made contact with actresses and producers, which is now a new line of investigation.”

The Guardian reports Chapo’s attempts to produce an autobiography were serious:

Guzmán, who has twice escaped from prison, most recently in July 2015, had started the process of making a biopic on a life in which he went from rags to riches, from dropping out of school and selling oranges in the street to landing on the Forbes list of billionaires. It was as if he wanted his own version of “Narcos”, the popular Netflix series on the life of slain Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar – except while alive and able to influence the casting and script.

Mexican officials documented meetings between El Chapo’s lawyers and the actors and producers during months of surveillance work, according to NBC.

Netflix’s critically acclaimed series Narcos documents the life of former drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, whose Medellín Cartel terrorized Colombia during the 1970s and 1980s.

Watch a trailer for the show’s first season below:

Escobar was killed in 1993 during a firefight with Colombian authorities.