SAN JOSE, July 24 - Costa Rican police captured Alejandro Arias, known as "Diablo," known as the Central American country's most wanted fugitive and sought by the United States on drug trafficking charges, judicial authorities said on Friday.

Arias, 41, leads a violent transnational criminal organization, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration which last year offered a $500,000 reward for information leading to his capture.

The arrest took place north of the country's Caribbean region, following an armed confrontation between Arias' group and police that lasted nearly an hour, the Judicial Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecutor's Office said.

"In a fairly complex police operation we have managed to detain Alejandro Arias Monge and two very important subjects in the country's criminal history," the agency's director Michael Soto said.

Local authorities say Arias plays a key role in violence in the historically peaceful Central American nation, violence stemming from clashes between drug trafficking gangs. REUTERS

Costa Rica captures top fugitive sought by US, authorities say