THE DISMEMBERED bodies of two pals, aged 12 and 14, have been discovered by cops hidden in bin liners and crates being pushed on a trolley by their suspected killer, it is alleged.
Héctor EfraÃn Tolentino de Jesús, 14, and his friend Alán Yair Silvestre Becerril, 12, disappeared after going out to sell sweets close to their home in Mexico Cityâs historic centre.
A frantic four-day search for the pals ended in heartache for their families, after officers discovered the boysâ mutilated bodies during a chance encounter with a man pushing a delivery trolley in the street.
The two agents from Mexicoâs Secretariat of Citizen Security were directing traffic when they spotted a man pushing a delivery trolley piled with plastic box crates, reported local media.
As the man â named as 39-year-old Edgar Zuñiga â passed the officers, he is alleged to have dropped two of the plastic boxes, revealing three black plastic rubbish sacks.
GRUESOME DISCOVERY
When the official went over to help the struggling man with the heavy bags, one ripped open revealing what was described as âvery white meatâ.
It is alleged the horrified cop then realised he was looking at a dismembered arm, shoulder and ear.
Zuñiga has been arrested but claimed he was a destitute drug addict who had been paid âtwo grams of cocaineâ to remove the crates, local media reported.
The gruesome discovery was made on October 31, four days after the boys first went missing.
Their families said they went out at around 9.30pm on October 27 to sell sweets, before visiting the famous church of San Hipólito to celebrate the San Judas Tadeo festival there.
The pair then planned to visit Héctorâs girlfriend, but never made it.
In their initial search for the boys, the families are reported to have called Héctorâs mobile phone at around midnight.
They allege a man answered, but immediately hung up.
URGENT ALERT
An urgent âamber alertâ was issued by the City of Mexicoâs attorney generalâs office on October 29 to find the boys.
Posters were distributed across the city and social media in a desperate bid for information about the youngstersâ whereabouts.
âThey do not have enemies, they do not take drugs, they are not in a gang, they are not in any type of illicit activity,â their loved ones told local media at the time of their mysterious disappearance.
Forensic evidence has since revealed the boys were tortured and mutilated, and police continue to investigate the killings.
Mexico has one of the highest rates of homicide in the world, with latest figures showing around 29 killings per 100,000 inhabitants.
By comparison, there are around five murders per 100,000 people in the US, and 1.2 in the UK, according to statistics from the World Bank.