In January 2008, Beltrán Leyva was arrested by the Mexican Army Special Forces in Culiacán, Sinaloa, and imprisoned at the Federal Social Readaptation Center No.

[4][8] Beltrán Leyva was arrested by the Mexican Army in Culiacán, Sinaloa, with three members of his security circle on January 21, 2008, with two suitcases filled with $900,000 in cash and luxury watches.

[13] Édgar Eusebio Millán Gómez, top commander of Mexico's national federal police and spokesman for the arrest, was murdered five months later.

[14][15] On October 14, 2014, a federal court rejected Alfredo's writ of amparo (effectively equivalent to an injunction) preventing his extradition to the United States.

[17] The act prohibited U.S. citizens and companies from doing any kind of business activity with him, and virtually froze all his assets in the U.S.[18] On November 15, 2014, Alfredo was extradited to the United States.

He was appointed to make his court appearance in Washington, D.C. in a session direct by U.S. judge Alan Kay for his pending drug trafficking offenses.

[19] On November 17 through his lawyer, he pleaded not guilty for conspiracy to import large shipments of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine from Mexico to the U.S.[20][21] Alfredo's trial was scheduled to begin on February 8, 2016.

[23] On June 28, the prosecution issued a preliminary forfeit order and requested Alfredo to pay up to $US10 billion, which the government estimated he had generated through his drug trafficking schemes.