Three sentenced for kidnap-torture

ATLANTA, July 8 (UPI) -- Three men with ties to Mexican drug cartels have each been sentenced in Atlanta to more than 20 years in prison for the torture of a man who owed them money.

Victor Abiles Gomez, 20, Omar Mendoza-Villegas, 19, and Gerrardo Solorio Reyes, 23, pleaded guilty to kidnapping Oscar Reynoso and beating him in a suburban Atlanta home, CNN reported Wednesday.

Prosecutors said the three, who had ties to powerful drug cartels in Mexico, left Reynoso gagged and chained to a mattress for six days because of a $300,000 drug debt.

"This case demonstrates the danger inherent in the illegal business of drug dealing," U.S. Attorney David Nahimas said.

Last year, authorities in Atlanta confiscated $70 million in drug-related money, the Drug Enforcement Administration reported.

The DEA said Atlanta has become a stopping point for truckloads of Mexican cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine.