MEXICO CITY – A former Mexican governor wanted on drug charges was arrested over the weekend in Italy, the Attorney General’s Office said.

Tomas Yarrington, who served as governor of the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, was arrested on Sunday, the AG’s office said in a statement.

“The arrest was made possible by a red notice obtained from Interpol,” the AG’s office said.

An Interpol red notice is an alert from the international police organization that can serve as a basis for arrest in some countries.

Mexican prosecutors and criminal investigators worked with Italian authorities to locate and arrest Yarrington, the AG’s office said.

Yarrington, who served as governor of Tamaulipas between 1999 and 2004, allegedly assisted the Gulf and Zetas drug cartels in smuggling drugs into the US.

The AG’s office had obtained an arrest warrant for the former governor in 2012 on organized crime, money laundering and other charges.

Yarrington is expected to be flown to Mexico in a few days.

In November, the AG’s office offered a reward of 15 million pesos ($802,860) for information leading to Yarrington’s arrest.