Morelia, Mexico, Mar 6 (EFE).- A 23-year-old man who claims to be the illegitimate son of Caballeros Templarios drug cartel boss Servando Gomez Martinez was arrested in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, officials said Thursday.
Luis Alfredo Aguilera Esquivel was arrested on Monday in the city of Los Reyes along with 30-year-old Cristian Salinas Ruiz, Michoacan Public Safety Secretary Carlos Hugo Castellanos said in a press conference.
Aguilera and Salinas were arrested as they tried to collect money from an avocado grower who was the target of an extortion racket, Castellanos said.
Gomez Martinez, known as "La Tuta," is a fugitive believed to be in Michoacan.
The Caballeros Templarios drug cartel controlled a large swath of the state until recently, when the federal government deployed thousands of police officers and soldiers to restore order in the region.
Civilians began arming themselves a year ago to fight the Caballeros Templarios, a quasi-religious criminal organization.
A vigilante group, in fact, operates in the city where Aguilera was arrested.
Aguilera and Salinas were carrying 550 grams of methamphetamine and a check for 1.01 million pesos (about $76,000) at the time of their arrest, Castellanos said, adding that the money was apparently paid by victims of their extortion racket.
The avocado grower had apparently been kidnapped by Aguilera and Salinas, who were paid an unspecified sum of cash and given a promissory note that expires in June, Castellanos said.
Aguilera said in his statement to investigators that he was the son of Gomez Martinez, who has not acknowledged him legally.
Investigators have not yet performed a DNA test, but other information appears to confirm the man's story, officials said.
Luis Servando Gomez Patiño, one of Gomez Martinez's three sons from his first marriage, was arrested in February 2009 in Arteaga, a city in Michoacan.
Authorities issued an arrest warrant for Gomez Martinez on kidnapping and extortion charges on the basis of the statements provided by Salinas and Aguilera.
Gomez Martinez allegedly gave the orders to his son to run the extortion racket.
Servando Gomez Martinez is considered one of the four top leaders of the Caballeros Templarios
The cartel was formed following the death of Familia Michoacana drug cartel boss Nazario Moreno in a shootout with the security forces in 2010.
The gang quickly took control of the illegal drug trade in Michoacan and expanded into other states.
The Caballeros Templarios, which deals in both synthetic and natural drugs, commits murders, stages kidnappings and runs extortion rackets that target business owners and transport companies.
The cartel uses Michoacan's 270 kilometers (168 miles) of coastline to smuggle chemical drug precursors for the production of synthetic drugs into Mexico.
The federal government deployed soldiers and police in Michoacan on Jan. 13 in an effort to end the wave of drug-related violence in the state.
Dionisio Loya Plancarte, one of the cartel's top bosses, was arrested by federal forces on Jan. 27.
