Official: Mexico nabs 6 drug snitches in AG office

ALEXANDRA OLSON

Published: 08.14.2008

MEXICO CITY - Six federal agents have been arrested on suspicion of passing information to a group of powerful drug lords, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office said Wednesday.

The agents worked for the anti-drug-trafficking intelligence unit of the Attorney General's office, the spokesman told reporters on condition of anonymity because his office prohibits him from being named. None were prosecutors, but all had various coordination responsibilities during arrests, interrogations and the transfer of prisoners.

The infiltration of drug gangs into the ranks of police and federal agencies has long been endemic in Mexico. It stands as a major obstacle in President Felipe Calderon's fight to destroy the cartels, using thousands of soldiers and federal police deployed across the country.

The six agents are suspected of leaking information to the Beltran Leyva brothers, who head one of the most feared drug-trafficking organizations in Mexico.