Mexico: no leaks from Interpol office to cartels

An Interpol team has been investigating possible leaks since the arrest of Mexican federal police official Ricardo Gutierrez Vargas in an investigation of law enforcement officers who allegedly shared information with traffickers.

Gutierrez Vargas directed Interpol's National Central Bureau in Mexico, where he had access to the agency's database of information on suspected terrorists, wanted persons, fingerprints and DNA profiles.

A judge ordered him held for 40 days while investigators determine if there is enough evidence to bring charges.

Mexican prosecutors told Interpol investigators that the allegations against Gutierrez Vargas involve only domestic data purportedly leaked in 2004, according to a joint statement from the Mexican Attorney General's office and Interpol.

Mexican investigators have turned up "no evidence that any Mexican security official improperly used Interpol's communication systems or its databases," the statement said.

Interpol's General Secretariat said it was satisfied with Mexico's assurances. Mexico's findings are consistent with Interpol's internal assessments, the Lyon, France-based agency said in a separate statement to The Associated Press.

Gutierrez Vargas is among at least seven federal officials detained as part of "Operation Clean House," an effort to root out officials who allegedly leaked secrets to drug cartels at a time when President Felipe Calderon has deployed more than 25,000 troops and federal police to fight the drug trade.

On Friday, prosecutors accused former drug czar Noe Ramirez of taking at least $450,000 from a member of the cartel in exchange for passing on information about police operations.