Fugitive Sebastián Marset sends video thanking police for "tip-off"

Sebastián Marset, an alleged drug trafficker, has sent a video to the media in which he thanks Bolivian police for allegedly giving him prior warning of an attempt to arrest him. Bolivian officers raided Marset's home on Saturday, and he is wanted in his native Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, and the US. However, Marset managed to escape. Bolivian police have denied tipping him off and continue to search for him. More than 2,250 police officers have been deployed to track him down, but he has so far given them the slip. Officers moved to arrest Marset in Santa Cruz on Saturday, but Marset's bodyguards took one of them hostage, and he managed to escape along with his wife and their children. Police have since searched eight properties and arrested a dozen people with suspected links to the Uruguayan but have so far failed to locate him. On Wednesday, Bolivian media were sent a video recorded by the fugitive in which he appears to try to exonerate those who have been arrested. The 32-year-old is accused of leading an international drugs cartel known as PCU or First Uruguayan Cartel, which smuggles cocaine from Paraguay through Uruguay to Europe. He has also been named by the Colombian president as the man suspected of ordering the killing of Marcelo Pecci, a Paraguayan anti-crime prosecutor killed while on honeymoon in Colombia. Bolivian authorities say Marset entered their country shortly after he had been named as the man suspected of paying Marcelo Pecci's killers. The hunt for Marset is being closely watched by the US Drug Enforcement Administration and in South American countries where he allegedly engaged in drug smuggling.