Mexico arrested former international soccer goalkeeper Omar Ortiz on suspicion of working for a gang of kidnappers, fanning concerns about lawlessness plaguing the United States’ southern neighbor.
The 35-year-old Ortiz admitted helping to pick out two rich victims for the kidnappers, said Jorge Domene, government security spokesman for the northern state of Nuevo Leon.
The gang, who said they belonged to a drug cartel, sought an average of 1 million pesos per victim, of which Ortiz received a cut of more than 100,000 pesos, Nuevo Leon’s government said.
“I’m speechless,” said George W. Grayson, a Mexico expert at the College of William & Mary in Virginia, after the news of Ortiz’s arrest. “I suppose it’s an indication of the possible ubiquity of organized crime.”
via Mexico goalkeeper arrested for helping kidnap gang | Reuters.
