A top police official says Colombian authorities have detained a Bahamian citizen wanted in the United States on drug trafficking charges.

Luis Alberto Perez is director of Colombia's anti-narcotrafficking unit and said Sunday that Matthew Ian Ferguson was detained in the city of Monteria, some 500 kilometers (310 miles) northeast of Bogota.

Ferguson goes by the alias Matlock and is thought to have worked with drug cartels in Colombia and Mexico. Perez said Ferguson arranged the transport of Colombian drugs into Mexico via Venezuela and Central America.

Ferguson is suspected of having worked for Colombian drug lord Daniel Barrera Barrera, who was detained in Venezuela in September.

The U.S. has issued an extradition request for Ferguson.