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Mexican Authorities Find 45 Bags Containing Human Body Parts

[Screenshot/YouTube/NBC News]

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Authorities in Mexico have discovered forty-five bags containing human remains in a ravine near a suburb of Guadalajara, the state’s prosecutor’s office announced.

The remains were discovered after officials in the Mexican state of Jalisco received a tip-off regarding an ongoing search for seven call center employees who were reported missing earlier in May, BBC News reported.  That tip led officials to the Mirador del Bosque ravine where investigators stumbled upon the first of forty-five bags filled with human remains Tuesday, the outlet stated.

While authorities have not yet been able to positively identify the victims, they have revealed the bags contain both male and female remains and “match the characteristics” of the missing call center employees, CNN reported.

The call center was reportedly one of 19 in Mexico under investigation by the United States Department of the Treasury that was linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Daily Mail reported. (RELATED: Mexican Cartel Members Linked To Timeshare Fraud Slapped With Sanctions)

“CJNG’s deep involvement in timeshare fraud in the Puerto Vallarta area and elsewhere, which often targets elder U.S. citizens and can defraud victims of their life savings, is an important revenue stream supporting the group’s overall criminal enterprise,” the Treasury Department announced in a statement April 27. “The U.S. government wants to stop these practices and has designated and sanctioned 19 companies that are allegedly part of the cartel’s network,” the release continued.

When missing person reports reached Jalisco authorities, agents searched the premises and found marijuana leaves, boards with “names of foreigners written on them” as well as a mop and piece of cloth stained with what appeared to be blood, El País reported. The Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office stated the call center did not have a valid operating license and therefore, any activity being done within the call center was “outside the framework of legality,” the outlet stated.

The Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences is currently working with the families of the missing call center employees to positively identify human remains.