Armed men kidnap 9 Mexican state lawmen; police, troops hunt for them

Armed men kidnap 9 Mexican state lawmen

ACAPULCO, Mexico — Police say that an armed gang has kidnapped nine lawmen in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero.

State Investigative Police Director Fernando Monreal Leyva says one of his agency’s commanders and a team of eight agents had gone to identify and recover a body in a northern part of the state on Friday. He says they stopped communicating with superiors that afternoon and officials learned they had been seized by an unknown group.

He said the Mexican army has been helping search for the men.

Several drug gangs are battling for control of smuggling through the region.