TIJUANA The Mexican army detained two people and confiscated an arsenal that included 11 rifles and one shotgun allegedly belonging to a criminal cell linked to the Sinaloa cartel.
Gilberto Landeros, commander of the Second Military Zone in Tijuana, announced the arrests at a press conference Saturday morning at the army's Morelos headquarters.
An anonymous call on Friday indicated that two men were loading weapons onto a vehicle in the La Gloria neighborhood, in the city's south side, he said.
When troops arrived they seized 12 rifles, 5,012 cartridges of various calibers, six clips and a Chevrolet van without a license plate.
They also detained two people, who were not identified.
The commander said they are linked to a criminal group led by Héctor "El Huicho" Guajardo, the chief of a group associated with the Sinaloa cartel that controls drug trafficking in Rosarito Beach.
"We continue battling this social cancer that afflicts Mexico's people and weakening the drug cartels by disrupting their economy and confiscating their weapons," he said.
Landeros said that his army command alone, which covers Tijuana and Rosarito Beach, so far this year has detained 355 people and confiscated 50,721 pounds of marijuana, 1,012 pounds of cocaine, more than 4 pounds of heroin and more than two tons of crystal methamphetamine.
In addition, the army has seized 226 rifles, 228 guns and currency: $1,053,800 and 4,075,116 in Mexican pesos.
"These are major blows against the drug cartels," he said. "Compared to the same period in previous years, we have surpassed seizures of heroine and crystal myth, and we're about even with confiscations of marijuana."
Omar.millan@sandiegored.com
