Isla Mujeres, Q.R. — State officials have announced the capture of two men from an Isla Mujeres hotel after an exchange of gunfire Thursday. The pair were captured by undercover police officers during an operation after the hotel reported criminal gang members had infiltrated their property.
Investigative Police officers from the state of Quintana Roo were undercover at the Hotel RIU Palace Costa Mujeres in Isla Mujeres, a separate municipality approximately 18 kilometers north of Cancun, when they located three criminal gang members. Two of the them were found armed in the bathroom of the hotel’s pool area.
Upon seeing police, the two men fired at officers. Police fired back killing one of the gunmen. The second gang member was taken into custody. A third was located after police implemented a search operation on the hotel property.
A total of three criminal gang members were located. The gang member killed in the Thursday afternoon shootout with police has not been named. The two arrested have been identified by police as Gamaliel “N” and Jorge David “N”.
“Those arrested are Gamaliel “N” and Jorge David “N”. The first of these was carrying a firearm for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. A third suspect was killed on the spot by police officers,” the State Attorney General reported in a statement Friday morning.
“Following field and office investigations, it was established that the alleged drug dealers had intimidated hotel employees. They frequently went to the hotel to eat and drink in addition to offering drugs to the tourists staying there,” police explained.
“Faced with this situation, police officers intervened, but were threatened with a firearm by two drug dealers who were in the hotel’s pool area. They belong to a criminal group dedicated to drug dealing.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that Gamaliel “N” has a criminal record for drug dealing. In the case of Jorge David “N,” he is identified as an accomplice of Gamaliel “N” in the drug dealing activity. Both allegedly had narcotics among their belongings,” police explained.
In their statement, the State Attorney General clarified “that the safety of tourists and hotel employees was never at risk.”
Following the corresponding proceedings, the two individuals, along with the evidence seized, were handed over to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
