7 Mexican federal officials detained for allegedly having links to Sinaloa drug cartel

MEXICO CITY – Mexico's top anti-drug prosecutor says seven Mexican federal officials have been detained for alleged links to the Sinaloa drug cartel.

Prosecutor Jose Cuitlahuac Salinas says the officials were detained as part of a corruption investigation that began in February.

Salinas said Wednesday that prosecutors are investigating whether more officials could are involved.

The announcement comes a day after the newspaper Reforma published a story saying a group of federal officials were receiving payments of $250,000 to tip off cartel members to police investigations and raids.

The Sinaloa cartel has long been known to bribe top Mexican security officials, among them former drug czar Noe Ramirez, who was arrested in 2008. The cartel is led by Mexico's most-wanted drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera.