Officers with the Federal Investigative Police killed six cartel operatives during an exchange of gunfire as the officers attempted to serve an arrest warrant in the border state of Sonora.

The deadly shootout occurred on Saturday at approximately 1:15 p.m. in Hermosillo, Sonora, when Federal Investigative Police (Agencia Ministerial de Investigación Criminal (AMIC) officers attempted to serve an arrest warrant on an individual nicked named “El Boina.” Officers found the suspect traveling in a convoy of three vehicles. An intense gun battle ensued when the officers blocked the convoy and immediately came under small arms fire from the individuals in the convoy.

The police repelled the attack and after a short gunfight, six cartel operatives lay dead around and in the vehicles according to police officials and reported in local media. Municipal police from the secretariat of Hermosillo also assisted the federal police during the confrontation.

After the gun battle, investigators recovered six handguns and one fragmentation grenade, according to a government spokesperson. Police personnel sustained no injuries during the violent encounter. Police also seized three vehicles in which the cartel operatives were traveling. The violence occurred on Boulevard Jesús García Morales — the main road leading to the airport in Hermosillo. The city is the state capital of Sonora which borders Arizona. Hermosillo is approximately 150 miles from the Arizona border.

Police identified one of the deceased cartel operatives as Cutberto “N,” also known as “El Boina.” Authorities said the suspect was wanted in connection with numerous murder and kidnapping related investigations. Police also identified Victor Daniel “N,” Luis Alberto “N,” Alejandro “N,” and two others who are yet to be identified. Police were aided with the identification of the cartel operatives by the presence of their known tattoos and personal identification in their possession, according to Breitbart law enforcement sources.

On Friday, a narcotics commander of the Agencia Ministerial de Investigación Criminal (AMIC), Aarón Guadalupe Arbayo Acuña, 45, was laid to rest in Hermosillo after having been gunned down by cartel operatives in the city on Tuesday. Gunmen murdered the commander while he traveled in the northern section of Hermosillo in Colonia Solidaridad. The cartel operatives intercepted the narcotics unit commander with at least two vehicles occupied by gunmen. According to witnesses, the gunmen blocked the path of his vehicle and at least two men dismounted and opened fire, striking the commander’s truck with dozens of rounds as reported by Breitbart News.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (the states of Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, and Zacatecas).