The Secretary for Public Security in Tijuana announced the arrests of six kidnappers including an active duty Tijuana municipal police officer and the rescue of a female kidnapping victim.
The Secretary for Public Security said that investigators arrested six kidnapping suspects on Monday, July 16 during an operation by the state police. After receiving an anonymous tip involving men with firearms at a residence in colonia Casas Grandes, police moved in and rescued the victim while making the arrests, a media report indicates.
Agents report observing two armed men next to a parked vehicle in front of the residence. Police immediately took the two men into custody. Officers then heard a woman crying for help and determined the cries were coming from inside the same residence. Upon entering the house, agents encountered two more armed individuals who were also detained. The agents also observed a substance believed to be methamphetamine on a table. Agents began a search of the house and entered the next room where they encountered two armed men guarding a female kidnapping victim who had been yelling for help. Police disarmed the two men were disarmed and placed them into custody. They freed the kidnapping victim who had her feet and hands bound.
The investigation determined that the female victim had been kidnapped three days prior. Paramedics from the Red Cross treated the victim and transported her to a local hospital.
The six kidnappers were identified by the state police as Sergio Iván “N”, 24, from Tijuana, identified as an as active Tijuana municipal police officer; Jesus “N”, 22, from Costa Rica, Sinaloa; Beatriz Adriana “N”, 42, from San Diego, California; Fernando Alberto “N” of 28, Efraín “N”, 18; and Alexis “N”, 18 — all from Tijuana.
Police reported confiscating numerous firearms that included: two .40-caliber handguns, a 9mm Beretta handgun identified as official government police service issued, a .45 caliber handgun, and a .223 caliber rifle. Officials also discovered numerous corresponding magazines and rounds of ammunition. Officials reportedly seized three vehicles including a 2016 Ford Mustang, reported stolen in the United States, and 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds) of methamphetamine.
During the press conference, the Secretary for Public Security denied that the arrested police officer was currently on active duty and claimed that he was under the administrative process to be removed for repeated unexcused absence. During the current local administration, a total of 151 police officers have been fired for failing to pass background investigations or for committing serious policy violations to include criminal acts.
Breitbart Texas reported serious problems facing the background investigations in Mexico which have been compromised by organized crime to bypass the process. In 2016, senior INL (International Narcotics and Law Enforcement) officials in Mexico City in 2016, ignored information from two separate confidential sources who had reported corruption with a key local contact the U.S. government was supporting. The key contact was a high-ranking Mexican police official who was working for the Gulf Cartel and accepting bribes from individuals who could not pass a polygraph examination or the investigation needed for a government job.
Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com
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