A police officer is dead in Ocosingo, Chiapas, after a clash with thieves who robbed a plane carrying hundreds of thousands of pesos in federal aid for local communities.

According to the state Attorney General’s Office, the plane had just landed in the community of Santa Lucía when armed and masked civilians ran up to it, took the crew prisoner and helped themselves to 800,000 pesos (US $42,000) in money destined for student scholarships and other federal programs.

When police arrived on the scene and attempted to detain the robbers, one officer was killed and two others were injured.

After the thieves fled, personnel from the Attorney for Indigenous Justice Office arrived to investigate.

Business owners in Ocosingo say insecurity has worsened since March, and that municipal police stopped patrolling the municipality at the beginning of the year.

Source: Milenio (sp)