Mexican authorities hunt for 131 criminals

Mexican authorities have launched a manhunt for 131 criminals, following a large-scale prison break on September 18 in the state of Coahuila, near the US border.

Authorities believe the prison break was the work of the notorious Zetas drug gang.

About 5,000 Mexican soldiers and police have fanned out across the border with the US state of Texas, causing traffic jams as they check every vehicle passing through the area.

Police on duty on the streets of Piedras Negras. (Source: AP)

On the other side of the border, US authorities were also on alert and used helicopters to patrol the border, due to concerns that prisoners would flee to the US side.

Jorge Luis Moran, the security minister in Coahuila state, said the fugitives had ties to the Zetas gang and that the gang likely organized the escape by crawling through a homemade tunnel.

State police were attacked by gunmen with heavy fire and grenades when they were sent to the prison following the alarm, further raising suspicions of Zetas involvement.

A source close to the state prosecutor's office said the escapees were involved in a Zetas war against the rival Gulf cartel.

Last February, 30 Zetas members escaped from a prison in Nuevo Leon, in a massacre that left 44 Gulf Cartel inmates dead. Several prison guards later admitted to participating in the Zetas escape.

In December 2010, 141 inmates escaped from Nuevo Laredo prison in Tamaulipas state. Mexican President Felipe Calderon called the latest jailbreaks "atrocious" and criticized the prison system, which has seen more than 1,000 inmates escape in the past six years.

The recent prison break took place in the city of Piedras Negras. The prisoners escaped through a 7m long tunnel, 2.9m deep and 1.2m wide, with the first point located in a carpentry workshop in the prison and the other point located in the prison's northern watchtower.

The prison director, security officials and staff on duty have been arrested. All prison wardens will be summoned for questioning about possible cooperation in helping the prisoners escape.

According to State Attorney General Homero Ramos Gloria, prison guards must explain why no one realized there was an underground tunnel being dug inside the prison.

Coahuila authorities said they were looking into the possibility that the escaped criminals were involved in a shootout with special police in the nearby town of Castanos, which left four suspects dead.

The state government has announced a reward for information leading to the capture of the prisoners, with a reward of 200,000 pesos (15,600 USD) for each fugitive./.

According to (Vietnam+) - DT