.Yuri.Ramirez.: Mexico arrests head liaison Interpol officer

A principal liaison officer with Interpol in Mexico has been arrested Wednesday as part of an inquiry into suspected links between officials and drug traffickers, reported the BBC.

According to La Jornada, the sixteenth judge of the District of Federal Penal Processes in Mexico City put Ricardo Gutiérrez Vargas under house arrest for 40 days. Gutiérrez, the General Director of International Police Business and Interpol, is suspected to have provided reserved information to unauthorized individuals.

Three other Mexican officials at least, the BBC reported, have been arrested this week in connection with “Operation Clean-Up.�?

Almost 4,000 people have died in 2008 due to the war on drugs and drug-related violence, reported the BBC.

According to La Jornada, an official notice from the general office of the judge made it public that in the initial investigations for “Operación Limpieza,�? attention arose and led to previous inquiry.

Operation Clean-up, reported the BBC, is aimed at weeding out officials with alleged links to members of powerful drug cartels.

Gutiérrez’s investigation was obtained by following the arrest of a suspected drug baron in January, reported the BBC.