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Ex-cop on Baja's most wanted list in custody for kidnapping charges

by patgarcia | December 3, 2008 at 06:05 am

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Once again participation of cops and former cops in organized crime seems more than evident. Military must renew and strengthen their strategies to keep ahead on this fiery battle against cartels.

TIJUANA

A former municipal police officer and kidnapping suspect who was on Baja California's most-wanted list has been taken into custody, the Mexican military announced yesterday.

José Manuel Garcia Galván, nown as El Tiburón, or “the Shark,” was detained Monday along with two accomplices after being pulled over in a truck carrying automatic rifles, ammunition and bulletproof vests.
GarcNa was wanted on kidnapping charges by the Baja California Attorney General's Office, said a statement from the Second Military Zone in Tijuana. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, he worked as a crew leader for the Arellano Félix cartel.
GarcNa's arrest is among several significant detentions announced in recent days by municipal, state and federal law enforcement agencies fighting to contain an unprecedented wave of violence in Tijuana that left nearly 210 people dead last month and seven others this month.
In many cases, victims have been tied to organized crime. After a series of incidents last weekend that left 37 dead, state investigators confirmed that 15 of the 21 identified victims had criminal records. Rommel Moreno Manjarrez, the attorney general, said Monday that many were small-time drug dealers.
“We have to recognize that Mexico is in a war,” Moreno said. “We need to rethink and renew strategies as far as prevention is concerned.”