The body of the leader of a Mexican drug cartel, who was killed in a shootout with marines, has been stolen by an armed gang, state officials say.
The corpse of Heriberto Lazcano, founder of the brutal Los Zetas gang, was being stored by the authorities at a funeral parlour in northern Mexico.
The Mexican navy said tests confirmed that the man killed was Lazcano.
Infamous for mass killings, the Zetas control key drug-trafficking routes in north-eastern Mexico.
Lazcano, also known as "the executioner", was killed in a gun battle with marines on Sunday in Progreso, some 125km (80 miles) west of the Texan border in Coahuila state, the navy said.
It added that fingerprints and photographs of the body were taken before it was handed over to the local authorities in Coahuila. |