Tijuana kidnap victims rescued

Two kidnap victims rescued in Tijuana
Suspected kidnappers said to be members of Arellano Felix gang
Story By Sandra Dibble, UNION-TRIBUNE
Originally published September 2, 2010 at 7:07 p.m., updated September 3, 2010 at 7:10 p.m.
TIJUANA — Though said to be severely weakened, the once-powerful Arellano Felix criminal organization was back in the news this week. On Thursday, Baja California agents captured two suspected kidnappers who confessed to being members of the group.

Authorities said the suspects were arrested at an Arellano Felix safe house in the Lomas Hipodromo section of Tijuana. Two victims told members of the anti-kidnapping squad of the Baja California Attorney General's Office that they had been held since Aug. 23. An agency spokeswoman said Friday that both victims were working professionals, and were rescued after family members reported the crime.

The suspects were presented to the media and identified as Edgar Antonio Garcia Urquidez, 20 and Alejandro Espinoza Rodriguez, 29. Fermin Gomez, deputy attorney general in charge of organized crime, said that investigators were still trying to identify the cells leaders and other members.

At the safe house, agents seized an explosive device described as an “interactive mine” with a reach of up to 50 feet. The suspects said the mine was to be used to defend against rival gangs, Gomez said.

Gomez said the suspects confessed to having participated in a half-dozen other kidnappings in recent months, and the victims were freed after family members paid ransoms of more than $50,000.

The suspects said they worked for a criminal cell loyal to Fernando Sanchez Arellano, who is said to lead the remnants of the the once-powerful Arellano Felix drug trafficking organization.

Though Sanchez Arellano remains at large, authorities on both sides of the border have described the group as severely weakened by the death and capture of its top leaders and a split in the organization.

Gen. Alfonso Duarte Mugica, the top military commander in Baja California, said this week that criminal cells headed by Sanchez Arellano and those once commanded by Teodoro Garcia Simental, captured earlier this year, "are pretty much finished." Duarte said other drug trafficking groups have been trying to move in, the Sinaloa Cartel and La Familia Michoacana. He warned that there "could be an increase in violence if authorities don't remain on guard."