Authorities in Mexico have found the severed heads of six men on the roof of a truck and six headless bodies inside.

The grisly find in Chilpancingo, capital of Guerrero state - which is at the front-line of the country's opium wars - was followed by the discovery of the bodies of four men in the nearby town of Chilapa.

Two of the men had been shot on a highway while the other two were found inside a house.

Image: The state of Guerrero in Mexico

All had their hands tied and bore signs of torture.

The deaths were likely the result of a turf war between two cartels known as Los Ardillos and Los Jefes, a regional government source told the AFP news agency.


Coveted by Mexico's drug cartels, Guerrero has an opium farming heritage that dates back to the 19th century.

Image: A door on a street in Staten Island, New York City. To Mexico's cartels, the US is a $30m heroin marketplace

More than a quarter of a million people have been displaced in the region as the gangs grapple for control of the opium supply.

The state has one of the highest murder rates in Mexico, a nation where almost 60 people were murdered every day in the first half of 2016.

It has long been the leading supplier of heroin to the US and is the third largest manufacturer globally, behind Afghanistan and Myanmar/Burma.