Two former police officers from Ciudad Madera, Chihuahua, were arrested for weapons and drug violations on Sunday in Namiquipa, according to the State Attorney General’s office.
The two former police officers were stopped by elements of the state prosecutor’s office after they were observed traveling in a Dodge van, according to Proceso. A search produced a firearm, ammunition, approximately 26.5 pounds of marijuana, and 10 individual doses of cocaine. Investigators also found a police uniform shirt with the Mexican Federal Police insignia, military-type trousers, knee pads, and tactical boots.
During interrogation, the two former cops reportedly admitted to being members of La Linea, the armed wing of the Nuevo Cartel de Juarez or Juarez Cartel. They also admitted to receiving orders from Roberto González Montes, aka “El Mudo” or “EL 32,” who is a well-known violent boss. Local media reports indicate that González Montes is also a former Chihuahua state police officer previously arrested in December 2016 for weapons and drug violations–but was released by a federal judge. Local media reported at the time of his December 2016 arrest, González Montes bribed the arresting officers with $2 million pesos ($100,000 USD), which officers reportedly refused.
González Montes’ La Linea cell was believed involved in an armed confrontation with a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel that occurred in Madera and left 15 gunmen dead. This deadly incident occurred on June 6, 2017, as reported by the state attorney general’s office. The cell is also believed responsible for an attack at a police facility in Las Varas that left two state officers dead in June of 2017.
Breitbart Texas previously reported that the former police chief of Namiquipa was arrested along with two of his officers after being accused of providing protection for a well-known cartel leader, Arturo Quintana Quintana “El 80,” within the Juarez Cartel.
Namiquipa is approximately 125 miles west of the state capital of Chihuahua and is in the path of what is considered a key drug smuggling route into the United States.
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.)
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