Members of the “Los Zetas” not only supply drugs to mid-level drug dealers or ‘narcomenudistas’, of Tepito, but also arms for their gunmen. According to La Reforma citing a report from the Intelligence Agency of the Office of Justice of Mexico City, the group known as the Cártel of Tepito is linked to different groups of “Los Zetas” who are established throughout Mexico City in order to control the distribution of marijuana and cocaine. The investigation reveals that weapons such as the “police killers”, a pistol or a sub caliber .40, which had been used various executions in Barrio Bravo and surrounding areas, are lent to gunmen at rates that rise as from $1,500 to $5,000 pesos. The weapons are lent per event, based on the time it takes to perform the task for which they were rented.
Likewise, some of the motorcycles used by the gunmen to carry out the murders are rented, mainly the Yamaha BWS, the model that has most often appeared in preliminary investigations related to executions.
According to intelligence information, the gunmen of Tepito carry out jobs for “Los Zetas”, and to perform just one homicide they charge $30,000 to $300,000 pesos, depending on the “target”. A commander of the Investigative Police claimed they had a very efficient organization based on their access to weapons used by groups of the elite army of police forces. He also made the statement, “The latest deaths we have had were carried out by a caliber .40; we have found in those events more than 15 and up to 20 cartridges, which means that it’s a glock [weapons manufacturer] type of pistol, holding 18 cartridges, including expansives, that enables us to understand that it’s another type of execution more similar to the mafia or the ‘maña’”.
According to the reports given from the Attorney General of Justice in Mexico City, the weapons investigated relate to the gang, “El Muerto”, who are dedicated to drug distribution. Just this past week a suspected drug distributor in the zone, Ricardo Castañeda Cruz, was shot and killed. At the crime scene there were more than 20 bullet shells from a caliber 9 and .40 mm, according to the investigation FCH/CUH-3/T2/1300 / 09.11.
According to La Reforma, the rent of weapons occurs through intermediaries; the boss of any gang is the one who has “contacts”, to one who administers the rent of weapons and who orders and gives the weaponry to his gunmen. This individual may or may not be part of the gang; the gunmen are interchangeable and act as substitutes. Also, there is a level of hierarchy as a future gunman can start as a guardsman at the executions, and after he can drive the motorcycles used in the homicides, until he finally becomes the one to pull the trigger.
The gang “Los Pelones” and the gang “Los Perros”, located in the Morelos Colony, on the side of the Delegación Venustiano Carranza, are two of the criminal groups that are offered as gunmen. They also engage in the robbing of cargo, the sale of narcotics and the assault on business.
SOURCE:
La Reforma. “Llevan ‘Los Zetas’ armas a Tepito.” La Reforma, November 23, 2009.
