In a series of operations carried out by the State Citizen Security Force (FESC) in coordination with federal agencies, authorities dealt multiple blows to Sinaloa Cartel cells vying for territorial control of drug trafficking against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) in the municipalities of Tijuana, Tecate, and Playas de Rosarito.
On the morning of Tuesday, October 6, a citizen tip alerted FESC officers and personnel from the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) to the presence of three armed men on Amanecer Street in the Terrazas de San Bernardo neighborhood.
At the scene, agents intercepted 21-year-old Jorge Said Salgado Mendoza—known by the alias “Serafín”—who was attempting to take cover inside a building while carrying a long gun. Also arrested alongside him were his father, 50-year-old José de la Cruz Salgado Sotelo, and Jesús González Rodríguez.
During the operation, authorities seized the assault rifle, a double-drum magazine containing 40 live rounds, an additional magazine with eight rounds, a tactical vest, and various doses of methamphetamine.
Upon checking his details in the criminal records database, authorities confirmed that Serafín was the subject of three outstanding arrest warrants for aggravated homicide. After being handed over to the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), the detainee confessed to having begun his criminal career at age 14 after being recruited by street-level drug dealers linked to his father; he admitted to participating in over 35 executions while working for the cell led by Franklin Ernesto Huezo Hernández, alias “El Ranchero.” Additionally, the FESC considers him a prime suspect in the murder of state officer Óscar Arturo Arellano Moreno, which took place on July 25, 2026, in the Nuevo Milenio neighborhood.
Days before Serafín’s arrest, security forces intercepted Luis Adán Torales Castillo—known as “El 500″—in the early hours of Saturday, October 3, in the Costa Rica residential area of Playas de Rosarito.
The capture was achieved after FESC officers managed to bypass the suspect’s surveillance network, which relied on drone monitoring. Upon being searched while in a sedan, Torales Castillo was found in possession of a 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol and several doses of crystal methamphetamine.
According to intelligence reports, “El 500” is identified as the person in charge of controlling street-level drug sales and leading the armed conflict against the CJNG in the Rosarito-Tijuana-Tecate corridor. The accused had previously been arrested in March 2023 for the attempted murder of ministerial agent José Alberto Martínez Enríquez, a case in which he was ultimately acquitted.
In a third operation carried out on the night of October 4 in the Nueva Tijuana neighborhood, FESC officers arrested five members of a cell subordinate to Alfonso Arzate García, alias “El Aquiles.”
