Armed forces and state police have arrested six suspected drug traffickers in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, including the alleged plaza chief of the Sinaloa Cartel.

The state Secretariat of Public Security said the arrests were made on June 29 in two separate incidents.

Quintana Roo police detained five men at 5:40am after stopping a vehicle near the Encanto Riviera Hotel in downtown Playa del Carmen.

An inspection of the vehicle uncovered three firearms, ammunition, 103 hits of crack cocaine, 13 packets of a substance believed to be cocaine, 100 packets of marijuana, mobile telephones and five two-way radios.

The alleged criminals, all of whom are believed to be members of the Sinaloa Cartel, were turned over to the federal Attorney General’s Office and will face firearms and drug trafficking charges.

Police arrested a sixth man at 6:00am in the Lol Ka Tun residential estate.

One of the men, Amid “N,” 37, is believed to be the local chief of the Sinaloa Cartel, which was once headed by convicted drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Noting the police presence at his address, the suspect removed a firearm from his vehicle but officers were able to detain him regardless.

He too was turned over to federal authorities and will face charges that include homicide.

Announcing the arrests on Twitter, Quintana Roo security chief Alberto Capella said the six men are believed to have collaborated with Canadian television network CTV on a documentary called The Narco Riviera. The film was about drug cartels in Quintana Roo and aired in early April.

A man alleged to be Amid “N” gave an interview to the broadcaster at a Playa del Carmen safe house during which he admitted that he had committed murders.

Speaking about his earlier criminal life, he said in English, “I didn’t want to become like a big boss, I just wanted to make money.”

Source: El Universal (sp)