Police in Mexico have detained a man known by the alias of M-47, whom they suspect of ordering the murder of members of the band Grupo Fugitivo.
The bodies of four musicians from the band and their manager were discovered on Thursday in Tamaulipas state, four days after the men had been reported missing.
Their relatives had reported receiving ransom demands in the days after the men’s disappearance.
While kidnappings for ransom are not uncommon in violence-wracked Tamaulipas, the way band members were apparently lured to an abandoned lot by their kidnappers with the promise of a gig at a private party and then killed has shocked locals, who held rallies demanding their release.
Police said they arrested M-47 during raids on three properties, in which they also seized drugs, weapons, cash and suspicious vehicles and detained two other suspects.
Federal officials said they suspect M-47 of being one of the bosses of a gang known as “Metros”, which forms part of the Gulf Cartel.
The Gulf Cartel has its stronghold in Tamaulipas state and engages in the smuggling of drugs and migrants across the US-Mexico border, as well as kidnapping for ransom.
It is not clear why the members of Grupo Fugitivo were targeted.
The singer – who survived because he was late on the night – told local media that his band had been hired to perform at a private party and given an address.
The singer said that when he made his own way to the location they had been given to meet up with his fellow musicians, he found the address to be a vacant lot and no sign of the band members or their SUV.
The band’s SUV was found abandoned three days later a few kilometres away. The trailer with their instruments and sound equipment was also found dumped at another nearby location.
Investigators believe the five were taken by their captors to a property, where they were killed.
Grupo Fugitivo were known for playing norteña music – a genre characterised by catchy lyrics often sung to a polka-inspired rhythm – which has been targeted by criminal gangs.
Some bands rely on income early in their careers from being hired to play at private parties, many of which are hosted by people involved in or with connections to the cartels.
They sometimes also compose songs praising drug lords and there have been instances in the past when singers of such songs, known as “corridos” have been threatened and even killed by rival gangs.
In total, 12 suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of the members of Grupo Fugitivo so far.
