Mexican authorities have arrested three members of a gang of five highway robbers who allegedly killed two Australian surfers in the state of Sinaloa.
DNA tests are likely to confirm that the charred bodies of two men found in a burned out camper van last week belong to Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, who were traveling to Guadalajara. Full identification, however, may not be concluded until next week.
Speaking to reporters this week, prosecutors said the gang members confessed to holding up the Australians late at night, and shooting them before setting their vehicle on fire.
The three detained men belong to a small-time criminal gang mostly dedicated to drug trafficking, Sinaloa Attorney General Marco Antonio Higuera said. Two other suspects remain at large.
Higuera said one of the gang members admitted that Coleman was shot in the face because he resisted the assault.
According to the testimony, the gang stopped the Cherokee van on the main coastal toll road near Navolato by pretending to be police officers. The Australians were traveling at night because they were anxious to get to Guadalajara, where Coleman’s girlfriend was waiting for them.
The two men, both aged 33, had driven from Edmonton, Canada and down the U.S. Pacific Coast to Mexico.