Mexican police arrested 22 suspected gang members and killed two others in an air-and-ground operation near the US border to stamp down on drug trafficking and people smuggling, authorities have said.
Federal agents, having observed a property guarded by armed men in the border town of Sonoyta, just south of Lukeville, Arizona launched an operation to flush them out, the National Security Commission (CNS) said in a statement yesterday.
When agents came under attack they returned fire, killing two men believed to be involved in smuggling drugs or undocumented immigrants, the statement said. Other suspected gang members laid down their arms and were arrested.
The statement did not give the date of the operation nor did it name the criminal gang.
But local media said the 22 belonged to the Sinaloa cartel of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the infamous drug kingpin who was recaptured by authorities on January 8 after a dramatic jail break.
CNS said it appeared the property was used to store drugs and house immigrants until they could be smuggled into the United States.
The authorities said that they had seized packets containing roughly 250 kilos (550 pounds) of what appeared to be marijuana, as well as 18 firearms -- 15 assault rifles and three handguns -- and an assortment of cartridges.
The detainees were turned over to the state prosecutor's office.
Because of its location abutting the US border, Sonora state has a heavy presence of drug cartels and is one of the most violent regions in Mexico.
