Mexican federal officers detained after marijuana discovery

By Adriana Gómez Licón
El Paso Times
Posted: 04/12/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT

Mexican federal police in Juárez detained four of their officers Thursday in connection with eight packages of marijuana they had confiscated but failed to turn in to authorities, state officials said.

Officials said the officers were taken before the Mexican Attorney General's office in Juárez, but were not arrested because they were granted a protective order that prohibits their arrest.

The officers were identified as Osiel Aldana Portugal, Enrique Félix Sánchez Pozos, Jorge González Campero and José Andrés Ruiz Magaña.

Enrique Torres Valadez, spokesman for Joint Operation Chihuahua, said the officers were detained at Hotel Montecarlo, where about 300 federal police are staying while Juárez deals with the violence that has claimed the lives of about 1,600 since January 2008.

Torres said the marijuana was found after an investigation that included a room-by-room search of the hotel.

The officers' lawyer sought and was granted the protective order Friday. The order means the officers are free and waiting to testify about the incident this week, Torres said.

The investigation will continue to determine where the marijuana came from and why the packages were not turned over to the Attorney General's Office as required.

"Depending on what the investigation shows, they will be imprisoned or cleared from charges," Torres said.

He said there might be a simple explanation for the incident because federal officers often take confiscated drugs to the hotel or leave them in their cars and later turn them in to authorities.

Adriana Gómez Licón may be reached at agomez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6194.

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