Mexico Police Arrest 6 Drug Gang Members in Cancun After 5 People Were Found Dismembered Inside a Taxi

Police in Mexico have arrested six members of a notorious local drug gang in Cancun after the heinous killings of eight people in the resort city last month. Five of the bodies were hacked up with a machete and were placed inside a taxi, while three other victims were reportedly buried in a shallow grave.

The five dismembered bodies inside the taxi were found last January 29, with the three other bodies being found in that shallow grave a little bit later. This is the latest in a spate of violence that is happening in Cancun, a resort city in Mexico's Quintana Roo state that is popular with American tourists.

The practice of hacking up bodies is a common practice by drug syndicates in Mexico, as this serves as a grisly reminder to rival drug gangs and the locals of how violent the group can get and what they could do to their enemies.

According to CBS News, this particular local gang also engaged in extortion. It is also known for using a network of motorcycle taxis and minors as their lookouts, with two minors being arrested along with the six drug gang suspects the authorities arrested in connection to the deaths of those eight people.

Cancun is part of Mexico's Caribbean Coast, which is also home to the resort town of Tulum, another destination popular with American tourists. These two cities have recently become an area for violent attacks, including the killings of an American woman and a man from Belize. They were reportedly shot to death late last week in what appears to have been a dispute between drug dealers at a Tulum beach club.

Mexico Police Also Arrest 23 People Over Fake Tour Agency in Cancun

Also in Cancun, police announced that they arrested 23 people in connection with the operation of a fake tour agency. This fake travel agency reportedly acted as a cover for drug sales happening in the world-famous resort town.

According to the Associated Press, the 23 arrested individuals ran a Mexican call center where they offered sports equipment and tour packages to tourists. However, they were actually scamming them, as these call center agents would fail to deliver the goods after the tourists had paid for them.

The scam served as a front to the call center's actual operation, which was to run drug deals over the phone and deliver by motorcycle. This was done from the call center's second floor, where authorities allegedly found marijuana, methamphetamines, cell phones, bank cards, laptops, and seven motorcycles.

US State Department Previously Warned Tourists About Visiting Cancun Amid Rising Violence

With the rise of violence happening along Quintana Roo state's Caribbean Coast, the US State Department issued a travel warning to tourists last year, per the New York Post.

The travel advisory warned tourists to "exercise increased situational awareness" in Mexico's resort towns over the increase in violent crime and drug busts." However, this did not deter tourists from visiting the area as foreigners spent almost $31 billion in the country last year, half of which came from Cancun, according to the Mexico Department of Tourism.

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Written by: Rick Martin

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