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THE WORLD
Mexican Police Accused
Entire state force is suspended as officers face questions about helping
drug dealers.
>From Reuters
April 13, 2004
MEXICO CITY - A Mexican governor suspended an entire state police force Monday after two senior officers were accused of cutting deals with drug traffickers.
All 553 members of the Morelos state ministerial police force were suspended pending investigation, their weapons taken away and their offices placed under guard, officials said.
Morelos Gov. Sergio Estrada said the move was part of an overhaul of law enforcement in the state, which lies south of Mexico City, to create a police force "that responds in a manner more in line with the needs of society."
Last week, a Mexican judge jailed without bail two senior Morelos police officers accused of protecting drug traffickers and helping them distribute planeloads of cocaine.
The two were jailed pending trial on charges of providing protection to Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, head of the Juarez drug cartel, and aide Juan Jose Esparragoza, alias "El Azul."
Arrest warrants were issued for five other Morelos state employees, who were on the run.
Authorities said the Juarez cartel was allowed to land small planes carrying Colombian cocaine at the airport in Cuernavaca, the Morelos state capital.
The drugs were removed from the planes under police supervision and transported in state police vehicles for sale, officials said.
Mexico's policing structure is complicated with a variety of federal, state and local forces. Government officials concede corruption is a serious problem in many police units.