A former drug lord who co-founded the infamous Medellin Cartel with Pablo Escobar was arrested at an airport in Colombia after returning home following four decades abroad.

Carlos Lehder, 75, landed in Bogota on March 28, having flown in from Germany, where he had been residing for more than five years.

Footage shows Lehder being processed by customs at the airport after his arrival.

Lehder had spent over 30 years in an American prison before being released in 2020, after which he resettled in Europe. However, on March 28, authorities confirmed that he was taken into custody by the Colombian National Police upon his return to Colombia.

The Colombian immigration service said in a statement that 'Lehder, who arrived in the country from Frankfurt, had an active arrest warrant'.

The Colombian-German dual citizen does not have any open cases in Colombia but is the subject of an international arrest warrant from Interpol for illegal arms trafficking.

National Police Chief Carlos Fernando Triana Beltran said that they were reviewing Lehder's legal situation.

He added: 'We are verifying Lehder's legal status. We are currently transferring Carlos Lehder Rivas, the former head of the defunct Medellin cartel, to a Bogota police unit to verify his legal status in Colombia.'

Lehder, a key figure in the Medellin Cartel alongside Escobar, was born to a German father and a Colombian mother.

He was the first major drug lord to be extradited to the United States, where he was sentenced to 135 years in prison for cocaine trafficking. His sentence was later reduced after he cooperated with US authorities.

Lehder was released from prison in 2020 due to health issues.