Bride arrested for extortion scheme in Mexico, handcuffed in her wedding dress: prosecutors

A bride was arrested in her wedding dress and accused of being involved in an extortion scheme with her would-be husband and six others, police in Mexico said.

The woman, identified as Nancy N. by Mexico state prosecutors, was detained during her nuptials amid a major police operation in December. 

Pictures of the bride showed her handcuffed and flanked by police officers.

Authorities said that Nancy was preparing to marry her fiancé – Clemente N., who goes by the alias "Mouse," when authorities arrested her.

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But Mouse escaped police capture and is still wanted for murder, prosecutors said.

Police have allegedly offered a 300,000-peso (~$17,400) reward for information leading to his capture.

Police said that the betrothed couple was allegedly part of a group that was accused of extorting chicken merchants in Toluca near Mexico City.

The couple was also accused of allegedly participating in kidnapping four individuals.

Prosecutors allege that the love birds were part of a well-known drug cartel, La Familia Michoacana.

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In a translated press release, authorities said that the gang members forced wholesalers to pay "an illegal quota" of two pesos per kilo on the chickens and eggs they sell and forced retailers to pay five pesos.

Among other alleged crimes, the Familia Michoacana is suspected of recently using a drone to kill five people in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero.

The attack is believed to have involved drones operated by cartel members, as well as gunmen, according to the religious and human rights organization Minerva Bello Center.

Prosecutors attributed the attack to a "confrontation" between warring criminal groups La Familia Michoacana and Los Tlacos, "who maintain a dispute for control of the area."

In the press release, prosecutors said they are cracking down on extortion in 2024.

Authorities said that 593 people had been detained since the end of 2022 on extortion charges and 274 people had been convicted.