Deputy Police Director in Mexican Border State Arrested for Kidnapping

The deputy director of a municipal police agency in Chihuahua was arrested and is under investigation for kidnapping and aiding organized crime.

The Deputy Director of Namiquipa, identified as Hélier Daniel Gutiérrez Quintana, alias “El Danys” or “El Chapo,” is also the cousin of one of Mexico’s most wanted fugitives, Carlos Arturo Quintana “El 80.” El 80 is the regional boss of La Linea–the armed wing of the Nuevo Cartel de Juarez also known as the “Juarez Cartel,” according to local media outlets.

The State Attorney General’s Office announced the arrest, which was carried out in conjunction with the Federal Police on Wednesday, February 21, at a local hospital in Chihuahua.

According to a statement by Federal Police Commissioner Manelich Castilla, Quintana, in his capacity of deputy chief of Namiquipa and police officer since 2006, was a criminal operative for La Linea and used his position to further their criminal activities which involve murder, kidnappings, extortion, and drug distribution in the surrounding municipalities. Commissioner Castilla also attributed La Linea with much of the cartel-related violence including clashes with authorities and rival criminal groups.

Breitbart Texas has reported extensively on the cartel violence in Chihuahua and most has been attributed to the turf wars between the Sinaloa and Juarez Cartels and affiliated criminal groups working on behalf of both drug cartels.

According to the ministerial complaint, Gutiérrez Quintana is accused of ordering the kidnapping of a victim at a police checkpoint on May 16, 2012, in Namiquipa. According to authorities, the victim was led to believe that he was going to be subject to a routine inspection but instead was kidnapped by uniformed police and transferred to a facility where he was handcuffed, gagged, beaten and threatened at gunpoint. He was later forced to call relatives with a large ransom demand on a three-day-deadline.

Prior to paying the ransom, the victim was kept in a detention cell at the police station. Involved officers reportedly took photos of the victim standing next to his vehicle with packages of marijuana planted inside.

Once the ransom was paid, the victim immediately filed a complaint naming Gutiérrez Quintana as one of his kidnappers since he was recognized at the time.

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.)