Mexico: Vera Cruz police officers arrested

(Vatican Radio) Mexico's Ministry of Defence says all the accused are Vera Cruz State Officers. thirty one are men and four are women. Half worked at the airport. Others were arrested in neighbouring San Luis Potosi. Prosecutors accuse them of collaborating with the infamous and ultra violent Zetas, who are feuding with the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel throughout the region. Those arrested have been brought to Mexico City. And they're being questioned by the Attorney General's Office. Listen to this report from our correspondent in Mexico, James Blears:

Last year more than 4,000 troops had to be drafted to Vera Cruz, to try to tackle a rapidly worsening crime crisis there. Mexican Police pay is famously low. No one detained is earning more than 700 dollars monthly. The drug cartels in Mexico have an annual turnover of more than 40 billion dollars. The Administration of President Felipe Calderon has deployed more than 40,000 troops nationwide to try and quell a drug war, which is in its sixth year, and has cost tens of thousands of lives.