Mexico: Drug cartel members are feasting on human hearts

Decide for yourself which is which in our gallery of these rituals.

less Gangs and other criminal organizations have their own set of ethics, codes and rules they enforce. Some are brutal and some are rather bizarre. Decide for yourself which is which in our gallery of these ... more Gangs and other criminal organizations have their own set of ethics, codes and rules they enforce. Some are brutal and some are rather bizarre. Photo: SALVADOR MELENDEZ, AP Photo: SALVADOR MELENDEZ, AP Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close Mexico: Drug cartel members are feasting on human hearts 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

A Mexican government official says a drug cartel is resorting to a shocking new tactic to weed out potential infiltrators: Cannibalism.

Apparently witnesses have been privy to seeing new recruits of the Knights Templar feasting on the human hearts of their murder victims, Reuters reports. The practice reportedly was enforced by the cartel's now-deceased founder Nazario Moreno.

"The ritual ranged from dismembering people they intended to kill to sometimes serving up the heart," said Alfredo Castillo, Michoacan's federal security commissioner.

It's believed the practice was intended to root out possible spies and test the loyalites of new recruits.

See the gallery above for other shocking, cruel and bizarre rituals gangs and criminal groups perform.