Authorities in Jalisco disarmed the entire municipal police force of the city of San Juan de los Lagos on Monday due to suspicions of collusion with organized crime.

State security coordinator Macedonio Tamez Guajardo reported on Monday that the 160 officers were disarmed earlier that morning and were being transported to the state police academy, where they will undergo training and loyalty tests.

State police, National Guard and army troops are meanwhile carrying out security operations in San Juan de los Lagos, located about 140 kilometers northeast of Guadalajara.

Tamez said that the government currently does not have concrete evidence to bring charges against any officers, nor have any been dismissed from their posts, but the decision to disarm them was based on credible intelligence reports.

The federal Attorney General’s Office currently has an open investigation into the force.

“[There is] intelligence, from both state and federal [entities], regarding the possible infiltration of organized crime into this force, … enough to legally back up the intervention of the state government into the force,” he said.

The Jalisco government said that it does not rule out the possibility of such infiltration in other municipal police forces, as federal intelligence teams currently have a number of investigations open in the state.

“With this we hope to return to peace and tranquility, not just in this municipality, but in the whole region,” said Tamez, who added that similar interventions may be carried out elsewhere in Jalisco.

Source: El Universal (sp)