Mexico has extradited an alleged drug kingpin to the United States, where he is wanted for trafficking billions of dollars of cocaine.

Mexican authorities said Wednesday that they turned over Jesus Zambada to U.S. authorities, who put him on a plane to New York.

American officials allege Zambada and his powerful Sinaloa drug cartel are responsible for smuggling about 120 tons of cocaine into the United States. The drugs have an estimated street value of $10 billion.

Mexican police arrested him in 2008.

The Sinaola cartel is fighting it out with other drug gangs for control of drug trafficking routes in northern Mexico, near the U.S. border.

The drug wars have killed more than 50,000 people since 2006 when President Felipe Calderon sent the Mexican army to rein in the cartels.

Mr. Calderon is demanding the United States do more to curb the demand for drugs and stop assault weapons from crossing the border.