MONTERREY, Nuevo Leon – Mexican authorities are currently searching for mass graves hidden inside a recently closed state prison with a long history of being run by Los Zetas Cartel. Inmates repeatedly had access to rifles, handguns, and drugs.

Known as the Topo Chico prison, state officials recently closed the 76-year-old facility and repurposed it for office space. In 2016, the prison made headlines after Los Zetas clashed with rival inmates, killing 49.

After the closure, rumors of inmates buried or incinerated inside the compound reached Mexico’s Federal Undersecretary for Human Rights, who sent cadaver dogs and forensic specialists to investigate.

A law enforcement official revealed to Breitbart Texas that Los Zetas managed to recruit guards and supervisors to create an intelligence and communications operation which fostered full control of the grounds. As part of a lucrative extortion effort, Los Zetas would gather information on an inmate’s family and threaten them if fees were not paid.

Inside, authorities uncovered proper weaponry and evidence of access to high-end liquor, drugs, and women.

Breitbart Texas previously reported on a similar case where Los Zetas obtained control of the prison Piedras Negras and disposed of more than 150 bodies. The organization used 55-gallon drums to incinerate their victims.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by Tony Aranda from Nuevo Leon.