Mexico City , Mexico ( CNN ) -- The reputed leader of the Zetas drug cartel in the Mexican state of Veracruz was killed in a gunbattle with federal authorities , the Mexican attorney general 's office has said . Braulio Arellano Dominguez , also known as `` El Gonzo , '' `` Zeta 20 '' or `` El Verdugo , '' was mortally wounded when federal police and sailors went to search a house in the city of Soledad de Doblado , the attorney general said in a release Tuesday . Arellano Dominguez opened fire with a .38-caliber revolver and was wounded in the firefight , officials said . He died while being transported to a hospital . Three other suspects were arrested . Officials said they confiscated five cars , four motorcycles , a submachine gun , a hand grenade , four pistols , more than 150 rounds of ammunition , communication equipment , three bags containing unspecified powder and pills , 74,900 pesos ( $ 5,655 ) and $ 107 in U.S. currency . Veracruz is in southeastern Mexico on the Gulf of Mexico coast . Los Zetas , formed by former Mexican elite commando-type soldiers , consists mostly of ex-federal and local police . The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration considers the group among the most advanced and violent of Mexico 's drug cartels . Originally formed as the Gulf drug cartel 's enforcement wing , the Zetas increasingly have branched out on their own . More than 12,000 people have been killed since President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels after taking office in December 2006 . He has deployed thousands of military personnel and federal police in his battle against the drug traffickers .
Reputed leader of Los Zetas cartel in Mexico 's Gulf state reportedly in gunbattle . Arellano Dominguez dies in firefight with authorities , attorney general says . Mexico considered thousands of Los Zetas 's most advanced and violent drug cartels .