Toluca, Mexico: Mexican police arrested the suspected leader of a brutal drug gang called "The Hand with Eyes" and he has confessed to helping carry out or ordering more than 600 murders, authorities said on Thursday.
Oscar Osvaldo Garcia Montoya, 36, was arrested in an overnight raid on a presumed safe house on the outskirts of Mexico City, State of Mexico Attorney General Alfredo Castillo said at a news conference.
"The Hand with Eyes" is known for extreme violence, including decapitations. Garcia is known as "El Compayito" after a popular Mexican talking hand-puppet character created by an entertainer who dresses up his hand and puts eyes on it. The crime gang apparently took its name from Garcia's nickname.
"In the first declarations that have been gathered, El Compayito and-or ‘The Hand with Eyes', has acknowledged having participated personally in 300 murders and ordering another 300," Castillo said.
