MEXICO: Police arrest eleven alleged kidnappers from La Familia Michoacana drug gang

Record ID: 303438

  • Title: MEXICO: Police arrest eleven alleged kidnappers from La Familia Michoacana drug gang
  • Date: 27th May 2009
  • Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (MAY 26, 2009) (REUTERS) POLICE HELICOPTER LANDING POLICE / ARRESTED MEN BEING PRESENTED TO MEDIA SEIZED WEAPONS AND MONEY ARRESTED MEN LINED UP SEIZED WEAPONS ARRESTED MEN AND SEIZED WEAPONS/ HELICOPTER IN BACKGROUND POLICE WITH FACES COVERED WITH BALACLAVAS SEIZED WEAPONS ARRESTED MEN (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) FEDERAL POLICE INTELLIGENCE COORDINATOR, LUIS CARDENAS PALOMINO, SAYING "On January 19, 2009 we rescued a 56-year-old retired teacher in the municipality of Ecatepec in the state of Mexico." SEIZED WEAPONS, GRENADES AND MEN SEIZED CASH VARIOUS OF MEN IN HANDCUFFS LINED UP KIDNAP VICTIMS INTERVIEWED BY MEDIA ARRESTED MEN LINED UP BEING PRESENTED TO MEDIA
  • Embargoed: 11th June 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Reuters ID: LVAF54W1X1LQ5BSVS263FFN9ARAZ
  • Story Text: Mexico captured eleven suspected kidnappers working with La Familia Michoacana drug gang in Michoacan, in western Mexico and in the state of Mexico, located on the outskirts of Mexico City and freed two kidnap victims, police said on Tuesday (May 26).
    Police caught the men, including a 17-year-old teenager, following the arrest of 20 alleged kidnappers in the state of Mexico last year in September. Investigations led to the arrest of the one of the leaders of this criminal group, Alberto Martin Alamillo Quintero, also known as "El Alamo."
    Alamillo allegedly worked under the orders of a fifty-three-year-old former police officer from Michoacan, Javier Ortiz, known as "El Arqui," who coordinated activities for the gang in the state of Mexico and Michoacan where the group controlled houses they used to store weapons and drugs.
    Dozens of weapons were seized during the operation including seven AK-47s, two AR-15s, nine guns, several cartridges, grenades, bullet-proof vests, mobile phones and cash.
    At one of the strong-holds in the state of Mexico, two kidnap victims were freed and the lifeless body of another male victim was found. He had been gagged and his hands and feet had been tied.
    Police said the arrested men were responsible for dozens of murders and at least five kidnappings.
    "On January 19, 2009 we rescued a 56-year-old retired teacher in the municipality of Ecatepec in the state of Mexico," Federal Police Intelligence Coordinator, Luis Cardenas Palomino, told a news conference.
    The arrests scores points for conservative President Felipe Calderon, who has put dozens of criminals behind bars in a high-stakes war on drug cartels whose turf wars have killed some 2,000 people this year.
    Mexican drug gangs killed some 6,300 people, mainly rivals and police, across the country last year and Washington is worried the violence could be spilling over the border.
    In the past months soldiers have also captured Gregorio Sauceda, who is considered to be a founder of the Gulf cartel's brutal armed wing, the Zetas, Vicente Carrillo Leyva, the 32-year-old son of legendary drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes, and Vicente Zambada, the son of Sinaloa cartel boss Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.
    U.S. President Barack Obama praised Calderon's drug war in a visit to the Mexican capital last month and has pledged more support in cracking down on the southbound flow of weapons and cash that fuel the cartels in Mexico.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register