MEXICAN SOLDIERS STUCK IN BARRACKS AFTER DRUG THEFT

Mexico City - In a fresh embarrassment for its anti-narcotics efforts, the
Mexican military announced Friday that it was investigating several
soldiers for stealing about 15 pounds of cocaine from seized shipments that
the army was supposed to incinerate.

In an unusually sweeping investigation, the army has confined the 96th
Infantry Battalion to its barracks in recent days, administering
drug-detection tests to most of the 560 members in the unit. The battalion
is based in Chihuahua, about 120 miles southwest of the Texas border.

An official said it wasn't clear whether the thieves intended to sell the
cocaine or use it themselves.