Retired DEA agents recount hunting Pablo Escobar and the lead-up to his capture

Retired US Drug Enforcement (DEA) agents Steve Murphy and Javier Pena are in the country to recount their experience how they took down the "King of Cocaine" - Pablo Escobar in Colombia.

On The AM Show on Tuesday, Murphy recounted moments of violence and Escobar's "ruthlessness" as they hunted the man who was, at the time, one of the world's most wanted and most dangerous criminals.

Escobar was a notorious Colombian drug lord. He was once estimated to be one of the most wealthy men in the world, with control of 80 percent of the cocaine market in the US.

He was shot dead by police in 1993.

A "horrific" incident that stuck with Murphy was when Escobar set a car bomb off outside of a shopping mall.

"The front of this mall was all glass, so you can imagine what happened to that glass," Murphy told The AM Show.

"It happened to be a time when mother's were there with their school-aged children buying school supplies.

"So you can imagine you see these sights, and they're horrific. These are things that never leave your mind, and he's been dead 25 years."

Murphy said Escobar was an "ego-maniac".

"Everything was always about him," he said. "He became accustomed to that greed and self-importance."

It felt light the weight of the world was lifted off their shoulders when Escobar was finally caught, Murphy said.

"The Colombian National Police went out of their way to protect us everyday. People call us heroes; we're not heroes, the Colombian National Police are the true heroes in this whole operation.

"They deserve the recognition for taking their country back from this guy."

Newshub.