By Roberto Bustamante
Eight elements of the Municipal Police of Coeneo, Michoacán, including the director of Public Security of the municipality, were arrested during a joint operation led by the Frequent State Prosecutor’s Office (FGE) and the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP).
According to a statement issued by the authorities, the agents are accused of having an alleged relationship with criminal activities and possible links with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
State authorities reported that the uniformed officers are being investigated for drug sales crimes, after they were detained during an operation in which federal forces also participated.
According to reports published by media such as the newspaper Vanguardia, the lines of investigation include the possible participation of the detainees in the ambush recorded on June 11 in the municipality of Nahuatzen, where An armed attack left five members of the Civil Guard dead and five others injured.
Preliminary versions indicate that the director of Public Security of Coeneo and several of the arrested police officers would have led a convoy that allegedly collaborated with the criminal group responsible for the attack against state agents.
During the security actions, the authorities located weapons, drugs and various signs that point to a possible relationship between the uniformed officers and a criminal group.
The capture occurs in the midst of an escalation of violence in the Purépecha Plateau, a region where the authorities have denounced a strong presence of CJNG cells and a growing infiltration of organized crime in local security corporations.
The Michoacán Prosecutor’s Office indicated that it maintains various lines of investigation open to clarify both the possible participation of the police in organized crime activities and their possible relationship with the ambush, one of the most serious attacks against security forces registered in the state.
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