The former chief of the navy in Guinea-Bissau has been arrested and is being transferred to the US, local media have reported. Rear Admiral Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto was picked up on a boat in international waters near Cape Verde, a local broadcaster said. He is described by the US as a kingpin in Guinea-Bissau's huge drugs trade. The small West African state is a staging post for gangs smuggling cocaine from Latin America to Europe. According to a report by the broadcaster RTC in Cape Verde - the island state off the west coast of Africa - US officials supported by Cape Verde police arrested Mr Na Tchuto and he is expected to face prosecution in the US. He is among a number of military figures in Guinea-Bissau the US believes are heavily involved in the drugs trade. US officials imposed a travel ban and asset-freeze on him in 2010. Last year the United Nations Security Council warned that renewed political instability was allowing drug trafficking to flourish in Guinea-Bissau. The country saw another military-backed coup in April last year, and the current transitional government does not have full international recognition.