11 Busted for Helping Mexican Drug Cartel EFE
go to original March 12, 2012

The head of the Siedo organized crime unit of the Mexican Attorney General's Office, Jose Cuitlahuac Salinas. (EFE)

Mexico City - Eleven current and former officials in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila have been arrested or are being sought for taking up to 600,000 pesos ($47,500) monthly from the Los Zetas drug cartel, the Attorney General's Office said.

Four public servants are under arrest, three are being sought and four others are being held in preventive detention for 40 days, allowing prosecutors to gather more evidence against them, the head of the Siedo organized crime unit of the AG's office, Jose Cuitlahuac Salinas, said.

The arrests were made following searches of 11 residences - nine in Saltillo and two in Monterrey - triggered by information provided by two Los Zetas members arrested in March 2011.

Investigators found envelopes containing cash and documents listing the codenames of various Coahuila state officials, Salinas said.

Among the officials under arrest are Sergio Tobias Salas, who worked for the Coahuila AG's office and was paid a salary of 150,000 pesos ($11,880) monthly to transport drugs, stage kidnappings and carry out hits.

Manuel Jesus Cicero, the former police chief of the city of Ramos Arizpe, was arrested for tipping off the Zetas to raids by the state AG's office, removing checkpoints and inspecting vehicles to identify members of rival gangs.

The former police chief was paid 500,000 pesos ($39,600) monthly by the cartel.

Julio Cesar Ruiz, a state police officer, was allegedly paid 50,000 pesos ($3,960) monthly to provide the cartel with information on state police operations.

Claudia Gonzalez Lopez, a prison system employee in Saltillo, was paid 100,000 pesos ($7,900) monthly to help Zetas members who were arrested get out of jail.

Rewards of up to 3 million pesos ($237,000) are being offered for information leading to the arrest of former officials Humberto Torres, Jorge Luis Balbuena and Enrique Gonzalez.

The four officials being held in preventive detention have not been identified, but the AG's office said they were all police officers.

Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, known as "El Lazca," deserted from the Mexican army in 1999 and formed Los Zetas with three other soldiers, all members of an elite special operations unit, becoming the armed wing of the Gulf drug cartel.

After several years on the payroll of the Gulf cartel, Los Zetas, considered Mexico's most violent criminal organization, went into the drug business on their own account and now control several lucrative territories.

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