Sinaloa cartel chief Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán was bustled into the hands of US authorities in Ciudad Juarez early on Thursday evening, and before the end of the night he was on the ground in Long Island, being hustled to a detention center in New York City.

"As he deplaned, the most notorious criminal of modern times, as you looked into his eyes you could see the surprise, you could see the shock, and to a certain extent you could see the fear," said Homeland Security Special Agent In Charge Angel Melendez.

Guzmán appeared in a US federal court in Brooklyn on Friday, where the litany of charges filed against him by US prosecutors were made known to him — apparently for the first time.

After US Magistrate Judge James Orenstein asked if he understood the accusations against him, Guzmán responded through a Spanish interpreter, "Well, I didn't know until now."

El Chapo Guzman US federal court More

Later, when asked again, Guzmán said he understood.

The Mexican cartel chief ultimately pleaded not guilty, and an additional hearing is slated for February 3.

The Eastern District of New York, based in Brooklyn, has filed a 17-count indictment against Guzmán, carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison.

"Who is Chapo Guzman? In short, he's a man known for no other life but a life of crime, violence, death and destruction, and now he'll have to answer to that," US Attorney for the Eastern District Robert Capers said.

"Guzmán’s story is not one of a do-gooder, or a Robin Hood, or an escape artist," Capers added. Rather, "Guzmán’s rise was akin to that of a small cancerous tumor that metastasized into a full-blown scourge."

Guzmán's lawyers have promised a zealous defense and said they would look into whether Guzmán was extradited appropriately.

"I haven't seen any evidence that indicates to me that Mr. Guzman's done anything wrong. Most of you probably haven't seen any evidence like that either," federal public defender Michael Schneider said outside the courthouse.

Prior to the heading, US prosecutors filed a 56-page memo arguing that Guzmán should be denied release while his trial is pending. The document also outlines some of the evidence US authorities will bring to bear during the case.

Here's the case the US government says it has against "El Chapo" Guzmán.

El Chapo Joaquin Guzman More

According to the filing, Guzmán emerged on the scene in the 1980s and 1990s, when Colombian traffickers still controlled production in their country and most of the distribution in the US.

“Guzman quickly set himself apart from other Mexican transporters with his efficiency in transporting the drugs into the United States, including to California, Arizona and Texas, and returning the drug proceeds to the Colombians in record time," the memo states.