U.S. sting targets Mexican drug trade

PHOENIX (Reuters) - U.S. police arrested 70 people in Phoenix and seized guns, cash and kidnapping paraphernalia in a sting operation targeting violent criminals linked to the Mexican drug trade, authorities said on Tuesday.

In recent months, Phoenix has gained notoriety as the U.S. "kidnap capital," averaging about one abduction a day linked to violent criminal gangs in the lucrative crossborder drug trade from Mexico.

The four-month undercover operation by agents of the U.S. bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Phoenix police also seized $39,000 in cash, together with ballistic vests, plastic restraints, duct tape, gloves and ski masks, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

"Those individuals who feel they can commit violent crimes, such as home invasions and kidnappings need to understand that we will hunt them down and bring them to justice," Phoenix Public Safety Manager Jack F. Harris said in a news release.

"Joining forces with these federal agencies allows us to expand our reach and arrest these criminals where they once thought they were untouchable."

Police say the kidnappers are often Mexican criminals, sometimes helped by local street gangs in Phoenix. They single out cash-flush targets from among the drug traffickers and "coyotes" -- as human smugglers are known -- in the criminal community.

Earlier this year, President Barack Obama pledged support to Mexican President Felipe Calderon in his fight to curb violent drug gangs that have killed more than 13,000 people south of the border since 2006 as they battle for control of routes to lucrative U.S. markets.

Obama's administration also has sought to crackdown hard on so-called "spillover violence" from Mexico, such as kidnappings and home invasions, as well as smugglers running guns and bulk drug cash south to Mexico.

(Reporting by Tim Gaynor; Editing by Bill Trott)