Cancun cop arrested by police for extorting tourists

An active Cancun police officer faces charges after tourists accused him of extortion for allegedly accepting $165 USD to avoid a traffic ticket.

An active agent of the Municipal Preventive Police was arrested for extortion after accepting $165 USD from tourists he accused of speeding.

The visitors, who were traveling in a rented car, were stopped at a checkpoint along the road to Mérida by the 29-year-old police officer. He told them that for speeding, they would be fined 3,000 peso.

The agent gave them the option to pay the fine there-and-then, which tourists agreed to, giving him $165 USD before leaving.

However, half-an-hour later, the couple returned to the checkpoint to ask the police for the receipt for their paid fine, but the officer rudely answered that he would not hand over a receipt and that they better leave.

Realizing what happened, the tourists went to the Secretaría Municipal de Seguridad Pública y Tránsito to report the incident. Police there helped them file a criminal complaint with the State Attorney General’s Office.

The officer, 29-year-old Jesús del Valle Valley, was arrested by police. Upon his arrest, authorities reported finding eight $20-dollar bills and one $5.00 American bill among his personal effects.