Police in Mexico's western state of Michoacan detained an alleged member of the Knights Templar cartel who is suspected of kidnapping children to harvest their organs, an official said on Monday.
Michoacan state Public Safety Secretary Carlos Castellanos Becerra alleged that Manuel Plancarte Gaspar was part of the cartel's organ-trafficking ring.
The ring would kidnap children and take them to rented homes with medical equipment where their organs were removed, Castellanos Becerra charged.
'We have several statements in open investigations that point to a network of several suspects who would identify people with certain characteristics, especially children, and kidnap them,' he said.
Castellanos Becerra said the cases go back several years, but he said he couldn't give any specific details or discuss evidence because the investigation is still open.
Plancarte Gaspar, 34, was detained last week along with another suspect in a stolen car. The men were carrying cash and crystal meth, Castellanos Becerra said. He said Plancarte Gaspar is the nephew of Enrique Plancarte Solis, a top Knights Templar leader.
Early in the day Castellanos Becerra sent an unusual Twitter message about the organ trafficking investigation. Mexican authorities don't normally make big announcements on Twitter.
SOURCE-DAILYM
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