The leader of the criminal gang Guerreros Unidos (United Warriors), Sidronio Casarrubias Salgado, was arrested by Mexican police for his alleged role in the disappearance of the 43 university students who disappeared from a town in Guerrero state.

The BBC reports Mexico's attorney general, Jesus Murillo Karam, said Casarrubias' arrest would lead to new information for the investigation into the students' disappearance. Police have also arrested 27 members of Guerreros Unidos as well as 36 local police officers who allegedly collaborated with the gang members.

Among those sought by police in relation to the disappearance is the mayor of Iguala, Jose Luis Abarca, who has been impeached by the Guerrero state legislature. Iguala is the town where the 43 students disappeared.

According to AFP, the director of investigations for the prosecutor's office, Tomas Zeron, told reporters that Casarrubias was arrested at a police checkpoint on Thursday on the highway between Mexico City and Toluca.

Iguala city officials collaborated with Guerreros Unidos to suppress protesting students on Sept. 26, which led to the six people and aforementioned disappearance.

Police announced the news about the arrest as people protested in Acapulco, calling for the return of the students. They chanted: "they took them alive, we want them back alive." The protests involved thousands of students, farmers and teacher, who also called for the resignation of Angel Aguirre, governor of Guerrero.

"We are angry because this is not an isolated event. Many of us are parents and we see very ugly things in this country that we want to fight," Magdalena Catalan, a 34-year-old teacher, told reporters.

Mexican authorities intensified the search for the missing students with divers, dogs and mounted police. Some 200 officers from a special investigative unit were deployed in 50 vehicles to a town near Iguala to help in the search.

"We are scouring all places that could be of interest," said Manelich Castilla, commissioner of the police division in charge of the investigation, known as the Gendarmeria Nacional. Some 1,200 officers are involved in the search.