Pubdate: Thu, 12 Aug 1999 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 1999 Associated Press OFFICIALS ARRESTED IN MEXICO MEXICO CITY - The top federal law official in a Mexican state bordering Texas has been arrested in connection with the drug-motivated murder of a federal police commander, the attorney general's office announced Thursday. Carmen Oralio Castro Aparicio, a soldier, had been the attorney general's representative in the state of Tamaulipas until about two months ago, when he was called back to Mexico City and placed under detention at a military base while officials investigated the slaying of Jaime Rajid Gutierrez Arreola, who oversaw anti-narcotics operations. Tamaulipas is bordered by Texas on the north and the Gulf of Mexico on the east. Ten other men -- including several of Castro's top lieutenants -- also have been arrested or are sought in the case, a statement said. The arrest appears to be another demonstration of the vulnerability of Mexico's army and law enforcement agencies to corruption -- as well as the will to battle against it. When Gutierrez was found shot to death on a highway near the border city of Reynosa in March, local investigators working under Castro at first said he had died in a confrontation with drug traffickers. But officials in Mexico City grew suspicious of the probe and conducted their own. Witnesses and other evidence led them to believe that Castro and other top officials had been present when Gutierrez was murdered, apparently in a dispute over money linked to the drug trade. A judge in Mexico City issued arrest warrants for Castro and the other men on charges including organized crime, murder, abuse of authority and coverup, the attorney general's office said. Among the others under arrest are Castro's deputy, four federal police officers and the state coroner. Three other civilians are still being sought in the case. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea