ZACATECAS, Zac. (apro).– An armed group on Monday deprived two Canadian citizens of a luxury vehicle and stole two other vehicles from motorists as they drove on a highway in the town of Cuauhtémoc, located 50 kilometers to the southeast from the capital Zacatecas.

State and municipal police in Cuauhtémoc launched an operation to recover the stolen cars, but were ambushed by the suspected thieves in the community of Corralitos, in the neighboring municipality of Genaro Codina, sparking a confrontation.

In the melee, a municipal policeman from Cuauhtémoc died and four state agents were injured, the State Consolidation Table reported, as it confirmed the arrest of one of the attackers.

The town hall of Cuauhtémoc reported on its social networks that it was possible to “bring to safety two Canadian citizens who had their vehicle stolen”, and regretted the murder of the municipal policeman, Luis Antonio García de la Riva.

Agents of the Zacatecas Immediate Reaction Force (FRIZ) of the State Police, along with members of the Mexican Army and National Guard have reinforced operations deployed in the municipalities of Cuauhtémoc and Genaro Codina to locate the armed group, which previously it had robbed individuals of their vehicles and attacked uniformed officers.

Overnight, the state’s Peacebuilding Roundtable announced that the operations, led by Zacatecas Public Security Secretary Arturo Medina Mayoral, had succeeded and had dismantled a criminal cell, seized weapons and dismantled five camps used by criminal groups.

According to the press release, four people were arrested in two actions: Brian Ulises, 21; Miguel Angel, 29; Esteban Alberto, 27, and a minor, all from Durango state.

This criminal group seized 11 long guns, 2,614 cartridges, 32 magazines, tactical equipment and metal stars called ponchallantas.