Mexican drug kingpin Eduardo Arellano Felix sentenced to prison in U.S.

Eduardo Arellano Felix is shown arriving with agents after being extradited from Mexico in this undated Drug Enforcement Administration handout photo released to Reuters September 4, 2012. REUTERS/DEA/Handout

(Reuters) - Former Mexican drug kingpin Eduardo Arellano Felix, who pleaded guilty to laundering money for the notorious cartel that bore his family name, was sentenced on Monday in California to 15 years in prison in what law enforcement officials called the end of an era.

With the sentencing in U.S. District Court in San Diego, Arellano Felix, 56, became the last of four brothers killed or sent to prison in connection with the Arellano Felix drug trafficking ring, federal prosecutors said.