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Six people allegedly connected to a deadly kidnapping ring in Mexico have been arrested, including German Garcia Yera Hernandez, who has been labeled as the leader.
The five others arrested are: Aylin Estrada Reye, Oscar Bautista Valencia, Victoria Camila Espinoza Ballardo, Gilberto Omar Avila Lopez, 27, a.k.a. "Luis Enrique Avila Moreno" and "Omar," and Joel Eduardo Mascorro Delgado.
All six have been charged with participating in kidnapping people and holding them for ransom. Indicted by a federal grand jury, they face a multitude of charges, including extortion and conspiracy to commit hostage-taking resulting in death. Yera, Ballardo and Lopez face an additional count of hostage-taking resulting in death and extortion.
Six of the nine kidnapping victims allegedly were killed by the group.
According to prosecutors, the group's method of kidnapping began with an abduction. The group would hold the victim at gunpoint before tying and beating them. Ring members would then contact the families of their victims and demand ransom payments, which would be claimed by an undisclosed co-conspirator in the United States.
Of the six victims killed, three did not have families that were able to pay the ransom, while another three were killed despite the money being sent and processed.
One incident, according to the Department of Justice, occurred when a co-conspirator traveled to a McDonald's to collect the ransom. However, the victim whose family was paying the sum was already killed. Victims, not identified in court documents, were given pseudonyms such as "Victim A."
In one case, two people from the U.S. and Mexico were abducted after meeting one of the kidnappers at a Tijuana nightclub and being invited to a home, according to the indictment.
They were beaten and killed after the kidnappers learned that they had no money, the indictment said.
In another case, a U.S. national living in the Los Angeles suburb of Norwalk was kidnapped while visiting a relative in Tijuana.
The victim "was forced to call his mother, say he was in trouble and instruct her to call an individual to pay $25,000 for his release. The victim's mother struggled to obtain the ransom money but agreed to pay the hostage takers $1,000" along with the man's car for his release, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
But the man was killed on the same day that his mother met with the ransom collector in Norwalk, the indictment alleged.
If convicted, all members of the group face life in prison or the death penalty. They are currently being held in Mexico, with their attorney status unknown.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
