Hundreds of police and soldiers have raided illegal logging camps on the southern edge of Mexico City and seized four illegal sawmills
MEXICO CITY — Hundreds of police and soldiers raided illegal logging camps on the southern edge of Mexico City Wednesday and seized four illegal sawmills, sparking the anger of local residents.
Some residents of the mountain towns blocked highways leading out of Mexico City with burning tires to demand the release of people allegedly detained in the raid.
However, prosecutors in the neighboring state of Morelos did not mention any arrests in the raid, which involved at least 300 officers of the state police, the National Guard and the army.
Prosecutors said Wednesday the raid targeted logging and sawmills in the pine forests of the township of Huitzilac.
They said authorities had seized a large quantity of logs, saws, trucks and stolen vehicles that were apparently used to distribute the wood.
Huitzilac is a largely lawless community located in the mountains that separate Mexico City and Cuernavaca, in Morelos state, where kidnap gangs, loggers and other criminals have taken up residence in the past.
