Mexico arrests suspected migrant killer

MEXICO CITY, June 18 (UPI) -- A Mexican suspected drug cartel member was arrested and charged with killing 10 migrant workers who were kidnapped from trucks, police said.

Edgar Huerta Montiel, 22, and his girlfriend were arrested in the northern state of Zacatecas for the homicides in Tamaulipas state, which borders Texas, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Federal police said Huerta confessed to killing 10 of 72 Central and South American undocumented migrant workers last year.

He also confessed to ordering the kidnapping of passengers on six buses in a rural town, Ramon Eduardo Pequeno, head of the federal anti-drug force, said.

Huerta is an army deserter with alleged ties to the Zeta drug cartel. The drug gangs are known to kidnap vulnerable groups of people to extort money from their families, the report said.

This year, several mass graves containing nearly 300 bodies were found in the province, all suspected victims of drug cartel kidnappings, the report said.