15 federal officials arrested in Mexico for alleged kidnapping, seeking $2 million ransom
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}ACAPULCO, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 29: Mexican army soldiers stand guard at the site of a suspected drug execution on February 29, 2012 in Acapulco, Mexico. Drug violence surged in the coastal resort last year, making Acapulco the second most deadly city in Mexico after Juarez. One of the country's top tourist destinations, Acapulco has suffered a drop in business, especially from foreign tourists. Toursim accounts for some 9 percent of Mexico's economy and about 70 percent of the output of Acapulco's state of Guerrero. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) (2012 Getty Images)
Mexican troops have detained 15 federal police officers on charges of kidnapping the owner of a construction company in the northern border city of Matamoros and demanding a $2 million (31 million peso) ransom, a government official said Saturday.
The official with the federal Attorney General's Office said the officers were arrested late Thursday as they prepared to receive the money they had demanded for earlier releasing the businessman.
The official, who agreed to reveal details of the case only if not quoted by name because he wasn't authorized to talk with journalists, said the family had alerted the military to the kidnapping and ransom demand. Soldiers and marines then mounted an operation that led to the arrest, he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The federal police officers face charges of kidnapping and extortion, the official said.
The officers are part of a group sent this year to bolster a security operation in Matamoros, which is across from Brownsville, Texas.