The 49 year old man was charged with operating a ring selling cocaine and MDMA in Hungary, and was sentenced to six years in prison in 2019. He fled and has been hiding since.

He was arrested by Mexican authorities in Cancun, where he had been working as a taxi driver using false documents. He was brought back to Hungary on Tuesday, three days after his arrest, police.hu said.

Background: 

The KR NNI's Fugitive and Wanted Persons Main Division, Wanted Persons Section, conducts investigations to track down and apprehend Hungarian fugitives hiding abroad. Cross-border probes primarily take place through the European Network of Fugitive Active Search Teams (ENFAST).

However, the work of these manhunters extends beyond Europe; for Hungarian fugitives wanted for particularly serious crimes, wanted persons investigators also cooperate with third countries.

In the summer of 2025, 49-year-old Hungarian B. János came to the attention of the wanted persons unit. He was first sentenced to six years in prison by the Budapest Metropolitan Court in 2019, with the sentence upheld on appeal by the Budapest Metropolitan Court of Appeal.

Prosecutors accused him of leading an organized crime group in Hungary between 2014 and 2015 that trafficked cocaine and MDMA. He involved his siblings in the illegal operations, and they played active roles in the trade.

After the verdict was issued in 2020, the man vanished. Since he failed to report to prison, authorities first issued a domestic arrest warrant, followed by European and international ones.

Given the organized nature and severity of his crimes, he was added to the EU Most Wanted website, which lists Europe's most sought-after fugitives.

During the KR NNI's wanted persons investigation, detectives gathered intelligence suggesting B. János might be hiding in Mexico. As a result, KR NNI manhunters contacted Mexican SSPC officials through agents from the FBI's Budapest and Mexico City offices. 

This sparked intensive three-way information sharing among Hungarian, U.S., and Mexican agencies, with Hungary's Interpol National Central Bureau also joining in. The coordinated effort revealed that B. János was living in Mexico under another Hungarian citizen's name, working as a taxi driver in Quintana Roo state.

Mexican authorities organized an operation to arrest him, which Hungarian police supported in real time by verifying emerging intelligence. B. János was captured in Cancún on April 18.

According to the Mexican Secretary of Security and Civilian Protection, the fugitive's arrest resulted from a coordinated Mexican operation involving the SSPC, FGR, Defense Ministry, Navy (SEMAR), National Guard, Immigration Office (INAMI), and Quintana Roo state public security organization (SSC).

Since B. János was in Mexico under an alias in violation of immigration rules—and as one of the EU's most dangerous fugitives — authorities opted for immediate deportation. He was flown back to Hungary on April 21.

Upon landing at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport, KR NNI officers took custody from their Mexican counterparts and transferred him to the Budapest Penitentiary to begin serving his sentence.

Photo: Police.hu

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