45 bags of remains may belong to missing call centre workers, prosecutors say

Human remains discovered in 45 bags "may belong to missing call centre workers' claim state prosecutors in Mexico.

The dismembered body parts, found in the municipality of Zapopan, were said to appear to resemble the features of several of the missing employees.

Authorities were searching for seven call centre workers in their 20s and 30s who had disappeared, with an eighth person, potentially linked to the group, also missing.

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Following a tip off, they made the grisly discovery down a 40m ravine on the outskirts of Jalisco's capital city, Guadalajara, earlier this week.

The statement said: "According to preliminary information, the findings in Zapopan coincided with the physical characteristics of some of the young people being searched for."

However, the remains are still subject to forensic tests to formally identify the bodies.

Police coordinated with Zapopan city's civil protection forces and firefighters to extract the bags "with anatomical segments".

On Wednesday (May 31), the state prosecutor's office said: "The work in the Mirador Escondido neighbourhood began yesterday afternoon when a black plastic bag with human remains was found.

"However, due to the difficulty of the area and the lack of natural light, the procedure resumed this Wednesday and will continue until in the coming days as long as all the bags are not located and extracted."

Forensic personnel were also at the scene to determine the number of possible victims and to try and identify them, the prosecution added.

Security minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez previously told reporters that initial investigations showed that the call centre workers "were carrying out some type of real estate fraud and some type of telephone extortion."

Authorities have been working to determine how many individuals the remains in the bags relate to, their identities, and how they died.

The prosecution office added that the remains found were from both female and male victims.

Crimes of disappearance are common in Mexico, especially in cities rife with drug cartel activity, such as Guadalajara which is considered a stronghold of the Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG).

In May last year, the Interior Ministry reported that there were over 100,000 missing people.

Mexico has seen spiralling violence since the war on drugs began in 2006, with over 350,000 people having died since then.

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