Five men arrested with 48 kilos of peyote

Five men carrying 48 kilograms (about 105 pounds) of peyote were arrested in San Luis Potosí at a police checkpoint, reported the Ministry of Public Security (SSP).

The detainees said the cactus came from the Wixárika Union ceremonial centers of Jalisco, Durango and Nayarit.

The SSP said that detainees were driving a white Jetta vehicle on Highway Number 80, when the officers stopped them for a review.

As part of the security protocol the driver and his four companions were asked for ID cards, but none of them was carrying identity documents; accordingly, the police conducted a routine inspection and found several boxes containing pieces of peyote.

The detainees showed a document which was allegedly issued by the Wixárika Union ceremonial centers of Jalisco-Durango, but the document did not specify the quantity of peyote.

Peyote is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline used by the Huicholes in the Wixárika ritual conducted in the Real de Catorce municipality of San Luis Potosí.

The SSP reported that detainees are Ramiro, 23; Fernando, 42; Antonio, 20; Ramiro, 48; and Bernardo, 24.