Mexican gunmen steal five small planes from airfield

MEXICO CITY, Sept. 30 (Chinese media) -- Around 20 gunmen on Tuesday stormed an

airfield in the northwestern state of Sinaloa and stole five small planes, the

federal Attorney General's office said in a statement.

The gunmen broke into the airfield at dawn, tied up a police officer on

guard, filled the planes with fuel and flew away, the statement said.

The five Cessna planes were grounded earlier this year by the Air Force for

the former's alleged violation of civil aviation and airport laws.

Security forces said it was not clear whether the theft had any links to

drug gangs who use small aircraft to smuggle cocaine from Mexico to the United

States.

Sinaloa, along with Chihuahua and Durango states, make up of the so-called

Golden Triangle of drug trafficking in the country.

Since November 2007, the army has confiscated over 200 small planes and

helicopters in crackdowns on drug smuggling and trafficking, media reports said.