MEXICO CITY (Xinhua) -- A penal judge Friday ordered a 40-day preventive arrest of 30 officials in Michoacan state, west Mexico, who were detained Tuesday for alleged links with a drug trafficking group, the office of Mexico's top prosecutor said.

Among the detained were some 10 mayors and coordinator of Michoacan's prosecutor Ramon Ponce, Michoacan's government advisor Citlalli Fernandez, as well as director of the State Institute of Police Training Mario Bautista.
Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora said earlier that there are solid bases to carry a penal action against many of the detainees, who were allegedly protecting the drug trafficking group, La familia.
According to Medina, La familia is one of the most dangerous groups in the country because it is equipped with modern weaponry and controls the commercialization of synthetic drugs, with enormous resources to bribe government officials.