A kidnapping in Chapala, Jalisco, concluded yesterday with one kidnapper dead, five arrested and the safe release of their two victims.

More than 100 state and federal officials participated in the successful rescue operation, which took place in a hotel where the victims’ relatives were about to deliver a ransom payment.

“An operation was set up in the establishment . . . with the goal of apprehending the members of this gang,” said acting state Attorney General Marisela Gómez Cobos. “When the alleged criminals realized their cover was blown, they opened fire on state agents, who repelled the aggression.”

An agent of the prosecutor’s office was injured in the gunfight, but the gangsters fled the scene and took cover on a hill on the Chapala-Ajijic highway. State anti-kidnapping agents gave chase and a second gunfight followed in which one of the kidnappers was killed and five were arrested, including the suspected leader of the gang and three women.

Following the arrests, officials determined that the kidnappers’ victims were being held in a house in a house in nearby Jocotepec. “Both were rescued alive and in good health,” said Gómez.

Sources consulted by the newspaper Milenio said the gang operated in the Chapala-Ajijic-Jocotepec corridor, mostly targeting local berry farmers. It has been linked to at least eight kidnappings in Ajijic and Jocotepec.

Source: Milenio (sp)