Mexico pulls 500 Tijuana cops from duty

TIJUANA, Mexico, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- About 500 police officers in the Mexican border town of Tijuana were off the beat Wednesday after being suspended from duty by the Mexican government.

Soldiers and federal agents replaced the city officers, who were shipped off to a police academy Tuesday for retraining and background checks amid an increasingly violent turf war among narcotics smugglers in the city.

The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday police have been accused of acting as lookouts, bodyguards and even hit men for drug traffickers over the years.

The Times said Tuesday's massive personnel shift appeared to be aimed at the gang controlled by Teodoro "El Teo" Garcia Simental, who reputedly has the police under his thumb on Tijuana's east side.