The Australian surfer murders in Mexico last month may be closer to being solved with the arrests of three criminal gang members in the country's state of Sinaloa last week.
Mexican authorities said, according to the
BBC News, that the three confessed to the deaths of Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas, both 33, who fought back during an attempted robbery. They were identified as Julio Cesar Muniz, Martin Rogelio Munoz and Sergio Simon Benitez.
DNA tests were being conducted to identify the burned bodies in the Australians' van that had been found torched.
According to
Australia's News.com, Mexican authorities displayed a collection of firearms, electronic devices and laptops, police uniforms, masks and more than 100 packets of crystal meth they said were seized after the suspects' arrests.
The
Sydney Morning Herald said Coleman and Lucas were from Golden Bay, near Perth Australia. Chief state prosecutor Marco Antonio Higuera Gomez said the two were driving through Sinaloa, known for gang violence in recent years, when someone stopped the van by flashing police-like lights at the vehicle.
"The tragic events of the last fortnight are weighing heavily on those close to Dean and Adam and the siblings of both men request that their privacy be respected," said family friend Gareth Taylor.
"If any positives can be drawn from these sad events, it is that the vast amount of people drawn to the characters of both (men) in their lifetime, are now sharing a common bond. And from that, old friends are coming together and new friendships are being forged."
The Morning Herald reported the men had driven from Edmonton, Canada, through the United States and into Mexico. They were last seen alive in Topolobampo, Sinaloa on Nov. 20 coming from Baja California on a ferry.
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