21 cops suspected of crime links detained

Last Updated on Thursday, 13 November 2008 09:20 Written by halejd Thursday, 13 November 2008 09:20

By Sandra Dibble

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

November 12, 2008

TIJUANA – Twenty-one city and state police officers suspected of having links to organized crime have been taken into federal custody in Tijuana, Baja California officials announced yesterday.

Francisco Blake Mora, Baja California’s secretary-general, said the detentions result from an investigation by the federal organized crime unit known as SIEDO. More detentions are possible, Blake said.

Those in custody include 19 Tijuana municipal officers and two state agents. None of the municipal detainees has been identified, but a police source who asked to remain anonymous confirmed the detention of Javier Cárdenas, the municipal department’s liaison with U.S. law enforcement agencies.

The Baja California Attorney General’s Office identified the two state agents. Jorge Quintero Colmenero is assigned to homicide investigations, and Felipe Sánchez Amezquita is in the auto theft division.

It was unclear yesterday where the detainees were being held, but suspects in organized crime investigations are typically flown to Mexico City for questioning. It would be up to federal prosecutors to decide whether there is enough evidence to press charges, said Rommel Moreno Manjarrez, Baja California’s attorney general.

The detentions come as police agencies at all levels struggle to shake the influence of powerful drug cartels. The battle between criminal groups for control of Tijuana, a key smuggling route to the lucrative U.S. market, has led to weeks of violence, with 230 homicides recorded since late September.

The first detentions occurred Monday afternoon as a number of officers were summoned to the Morelos military base near downtown Tijuana. The detentions “were of such importance that it was determined they would be carried out in the military installations,” said Blake, whose position is akin to lieutenant governor.

Cárdenas, the San Diego liaison, was taken into custody yesterday morning as he arrived at the main municipal police headquarters in downtown Tijuana, according to the police source and first-hand accounts of Mexican reporters.

Mayor Jorge Ramos and Tijuana’s secretary of public safety, Alberto Capella, joined state and military officials in announcing the detentions. Capella said close to 200 officers have either been fired, pressured to leave, or voluntarily resigned in the past 11 months.

Victor Clark, a human rights activist and longtime observer of criminal trends, said this week’s federal action “at first sight looks like an important blow,” against organized crime. He said previous purges by Ramos’administration have targeted lower-ranking officers who were lesser players, but the current detentions appear to involve higher-ranking commanders.

What happens in the coming weeks will be a test of whether there is sufficient evidence against the officers. In a similar operation in 2002, 42 police officials were detained, including the Tijuana police chief and top state prosecutor in the city, who were suspected of cooperating with the Arellano Félix cartel.

Within days, all but 10 were released. The chief and the prosecutor returned to Tijuana and reclaimed their posts.

via http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20081112-9999-1m12tjcops.html