9 Mexican Officers Heading To Prison

MEXICO CITY -- A Mexican judge has ordered nine former police officers to serve prison sentences ranging from four to 46 years for killing and kidnapping under orders of the Tijuana-based Arellano-Felix drug cartel.

Authorities said Tuesday that the men were members of a group of cartel enforcers known as "the Black Commando." Authorities said they worked as police officers in Ensenada, about 70 miles south of San Diego, when they were arrested in 2005.

The Arellano-Felix cartel emerged as a drug-trafficking powerhouse in the 1980s in Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, when it recruited dozens of police into its ranks and paid millions of dollars in bribes to law enforcement and military personnel.


The cartel's influence is widely believed to have waned in recent years as its leaders have been killed or captured.

source: nbcsandiego.com