Authorities in Jalisco freed 17 kidnapping victims yesterday after some escaped from their captors.

One group of victims was located in the Del Periodista neighborhood of Guadalajara after two were seen running along the street naked with their hands tied early yesterday morning.

The two men, who showed signs of having been tortured, told police that seven people remained in the safe house where they were being kept.

A search of the property led to the discovery of the remaining victims, all of whom had been injured with a sharp object. One was missing three toes. Police said soil in the back yard had been disturbed recently, indicating the possibility that bodies had been buried there.

Later in the day, there was a similar report in San Sebastián del Grande, Tlajomulco, where several men showed signs of having been tortured and tied up.

The men led authorities to a property where they found three women and five men being held captive, along with four bodies.

The state Attorney General’s Office said most of the kidnapping victims had a criminal record, are related to local small-scale drug-dealing and are suspected to be members of a criminal gang.

Source: Milenio (sp)