Dead body reported in Mexico City turns out to be Christmas tree

Police investigating reports of a dead body left on a street in the Mexican capital say it turned out to be just a discarded Christmas tree.

Drug gangs in the country commonly dump the corpses of their victims in public as a way of sending warnings.

So when residents in the rough eastern borough of Iztapalapa saw a bulky bag wrapped in packing tape, they called police. Images of the bag also quickly circulated on social media.

Mexico City police said Tuesday that they sent forensic officers to the scene, but when they opened the bag all they found was the tree.