International ecstasy dealer nabbed in Brazil

An Israeli believed to be the world's biggest dealer of ecstasy drug has been arrested on a beach in Rio de Janeiro, police said.

An Israeli believed to be the world's biggest dealer of ecstasy drug has been arrested on a beach in Rio de Janeiro, police said.

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El Al Yoram, 35, offered no resistance when he was nabbed in Ipanema district while walking on the beach.

According to the arrest warrant, he is wanted in the US, Israel, Brazil and Uruguay. The arrest was the result of coordination among authorities of the four countries, a Rio police spokesperson said.

Brazilian authorities said that Yoram had rented a house for a year in Ipanema. He was arrested in 2005 in Uruguay but escaped a few days later to neighbouring Brazil.

Yoram is alleged to have been behind the largest-ever shipment of the club drug ecstasy, a stimulant, into the US.