Mexican authorities arrested the leader of an extremist ultra-orthodox Jewish sect during a raid on the group’s compound over the weekend.
A state law enforcement official identified the man as Menachem Endel Alter of Jerusalem, leader of the Lev Tahor, who is accused of organized crime and human trafficking.
The raid was carried out on the group’s compound in the municipality of Tapachula, near the Mexico-Guatemala border. Some two dozen women and children were also taken to a government shelter.
Moshe Alter, Endel Alter's brother, delivered food to the women and children held at the shelter on Tuesday. He told The Associated Press that authorities had also taken away a 3-month-old baby whose mother was now in the shelter.