▲ A view of the prison in Mexico
A 'VIP area' was discovered in a Mexican prison where a group of prisoners escaped after a raid by armed vehicles at the beginning of the New Year.
According to Mexican daily newspapers such as El Universal and Reforma on the 3rd (local time), 10 VIP rooms (prisoners' living places), so-called 'VIP rooms', were confirmed in the detainee area of the 3rd prison in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, bordering the United States.
Mexico's Defense Minister Luis Crecencio Sandoval described the VIP room as "a TV-like space with a different condition from the rest of the living room" and then "secured a safe containing 1.7 million 2,174 pesos (equivalent to 110 million won) in it. "he said.
Authorities added that they also found more than 10 weapons, 84 cell phones, and drugs such as cocaine and fentanyl.
In the VIP room, it was found that Ernesto Alfredo Pinyon de la Cruz, the head of the so-called notorious drug cartel 'Los Megicles', lived mainly.
Also known as 'El Neto', he served from 2009 to 224 years in prison for several counts of murder and kidnapping.
In this prison, it was investigated that he had lived a luxurious life, acting as a virtual 'king' by bribing prison guards and mobilizing gang members to subdue other prisoners.
Fourteen people were initially known to have died, but three more died during hospital treatment.
The Chihuahua Attorney General's Office said on Monday that prison warden Alejandro Alvarado Teyez has been fired.
Teyez is also under investigation by the prosecution on suspicion of bringing in prohibited items and being involved in prison escape.
The State Attorney General's office added that "prisoners in the prison have decided to disperse to other places."
Meanwhile, the Chihuahua state government said, "Seven people, including two police officers, were killed during the search for escaped prisoners the previous day."
(Photo = Reuters, Yonhap News)