At least 35 bodies were retrieved last week from clandestine graves in the greater Guadalajara area of Jalisco, the state attorney general said on Saturday.

A week-long search and excavation operation at a home in the El Campanario neighborhood of Zapopan led authorities to at least 27 bodies.

Reports by neighbors on May 7 that “blood stains” were evident on the property led to the search.

Attorney General Gerardo Octavio Solís Gómez said digging continues at the site, using heavy machinery under the direction of structural engineers, as the digging has gone more than three meters deep.

Solís said all the victims had been executed, and that so far only two had been identified.

Solís said a similar discovery was made recently in the Quinta Verde neighborhood of Guadalajara, where nine kidnapping victims were rescued on May 3. Further inspection of the property led to the discovery of seven skulls along other bone remains, “which indicates there are at least seven people buried illegally.”

He explained that excavation at the site is more complex due to the presence of acids and lye that prohibit workers from digging for more than 20 minutes at a time.

One more body turned up on Thursday on a property in the Lomas del Mirador neighborhood of Tlajomulco, leading to the arrest of four individuals found on the premises.

Six vehicles were seized during the searches at the three properties, some of which had been stolen and used in criminal activities. There was evidence that they had been disguised as vehicles belonging to the state and federal Attorneys General’s Offices.

Source: El Sol de México (sp), Milenio (sp)