PALOMAS, Mexico, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Three severed heads were left in the plaza of a Mexican town on the U.S. border with a note saying they had muscled in on extortion rackets, police said.
The heads, all male, were discovered Sunday morning by worshippers heading to mass at the Catholic church in Palomas, the Albuquerque Journal reported. Angelo Vega, the police chief in Columbus, N.M., said three headless bodies were found south of Palomas in a burned-out SUV.
Vega said the note called the dead men extortionists.
"It's our game, nobody else's," it warned.
Palomas, or Puerto Palomas de la Villa, is a town of about 7,500 that has become a destination for U.S. residents trying to save money on prescription drugs or dental work. The town has close ties with Columbus, and Vega said some Columbus residents were in Palomas for church Sunday morning and saw the heads.
Palomas Mayor Estanislao "Tanys" Garcia was kidnapped last October and his body left in a burning car outside of town.
Vega said his department was providing assistance to police in Mexico.
