Baja police commander, bodyguards held on suspicion of extortion

UNION-TRIBUNE

7:37 p.m. April 22, 2008

TIJUANA – A top state police commander and his five bodyguards were being held on suspicion of extortion after a woman they detained outside their regular working hours accused them of demanding that her family pay $5,000 for her release.

Jose Angel Meza Valdez, commander of the Baja California Preventive Police in Tijuana, and five fellow agents were taken into custody in eastern Tijuana by members of the Mexican military Monday night.

A military communique said the six agents were arrested when soldiers responded to a complaint that a woman had been abducted by members of the State Preventive Police.

Meza, interviewed by reporters at a Tijuana military base, proclaimed his innocence Tuesday morning. He said the agents had detained a woman with packets of suspected cocaine, and they were taking her to an office of the Baja California Attorney General to confirm the content.

“It's not right that we risk our lives and then we don't receive even the least bit of support,” he said.

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Six Mexican agents held on suspicion of extortion