Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Nine men believed to belong to a criminal group that sells narcotics in this Caribbean resort city were arrested in two separate operations, the Quintana Roo State Prosecutor’s Office said.
The arrests were carried out in coordination with the Playa del Carmen municipal police, officials said in a statement. All nine were caught in the act and face possible charges of crimes against health in the form of small-scale drug dealing.
Suspect approached officers after alleged threats
In the first operation, investigators working on 120 Avenida Norte in the Ejido neighborhood were approached by a man who signaled to them. He told the officers that minutes earlier several men had offered him drugs and threatened him if he refused to buy, but that he managed to get away and reported what happened when he spotted the police.
Officers went to the location the man pointed out and stopped Robert Adalberto N, Julio N, Gerardo N, Edgar Daniel N, Antonio N and Nicanor N for inspection.
The search turned up dried green plant material resembling marijuana, solid white fragments with characteristics similar to the drug known as crystal, and cellphones, officials said. All six were arrested.
Second arrest at Villas del Sol
In the second operation, Jonathan de Jesús N, Eriberto N and Antonio N were detained on Avenida Sur in the Villas del Sol subdivision, where officers spotted one of them pulling small bags from a fanny pack and handing them to the other two.
A search yielded dried green plant material, a white crystalline substance and cellphones, and the three men were taken into custody.
Preliminary investigations indicate the detainees belong to a criminal group responsible for generating violence in the area and dedicated to selling narcotics in Playa del Carmen, authorities said.
All nine were handed over to a control judge, who ordered them held in pretrial detention while their legal status is determined.
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