Pubdate: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 1999 Associated Press Author: The Associated Press ORGANIZED CRIME PROBED IN MEXICO MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Justice officials have opened a sweeping investigation into alleged links between police and organized crime in Sinaloa, a northwestern state rife with drug trafficking, Mexican media reported Sunday. Four State Judicial Police officers have been indicted and 40 others are under investigation for suspected corruption, state Attorney General Gilberto Higuera Bernal said, according to the daily La Jornada. The state justice department will investigate the alleged complicity and implement staff changes, even in top offices, to stop "the association between criminals and police forces," Higuera told the government news agency Notimex. Details of the allegations were not presented. Sinaloa state, site of the popular tourist resort of Mazatlan, is a center for marijuana and opium growing and home to several of Mexico's most powerful drug traffickers. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D