Officials worry gangs, cartels growing in rural NM

Alamogordo Daily News - Authorities are urging leaders in rural New Mexico to work to prevent Mexican drug cartels and notorious outlaw motorcycle gangs from continuing to spread into their communities. The Alamogordo Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/MSVDji) that Otero and Lincoln counties are drug-trafficking hot spots where gangs are actively recruiting young people. The 12th Judicial District has recently filed more than 100 drug cases stemming from an Otero County Sheriff's sting operation, prosecutor Diana Martwick said. "We have big-time gangs coming in here," Martwick said recently. "They've been involved in all our violent crimes lately. When you see the Zetas up in Ruidoso at the racetrack, they're really here, and they're real. I am not saying this is like Albuquerque or even Roswell. I want to get a handle on it before we become the next Roswell." Authorities report that gangs and cartels are growing in Roswell and the New Mexico Four Corners region because of the general isolation, unpatrolled American Indian reservation roads and small law enforcement departments. Read More News New Mexico

Officials worry gangs, cartels growing in rural NM