Mexico nabs 3 highway robbers in killing Australian tourists

A burnt-out van belonging to one of the Australians was found in the northwestern state of Sinaloa last month with two charred corpses inside.

The suspects, whose auto flashed police-like lights to stop the van, confessed to shooting a long-haired tourist in the face when he resisted a robbery on Nov 21.

The robbers killed the second man, drove the vehicle to another location where the number plate was stolen and “set fire to the van with two bodies inside”, Mr Higuera said.

On the night of November 20, two men who resembled missing Australian surfers Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman were seen entering an all-night convenience store in the coastal Mexican city of Los Mochis.

“This is just a gang of five people who committed highway robberies”.

The attorney-general said the Australian men reportedly realised they were being robbed and attempted to fight them off, but were immediately shot and killed.

DNA tests are planned but the van’s identification numbers match a van owned by Coleman.

Evidence presented at a news conference showed the arrested men had rifles, a shotgun, pistols, 124 small bags of methamphetamine and jackets with police logos on them.

Prosecutors said the thieves, travelling in an SUV, forced the van to stop. The two surfers got off a ferry from the Baja California peninsula at Topolobampo, Sinaloa, at about 10:30 p.m. on November 20.

The area of Sinaloa state where the van was found was known for robberies, murders and kidnappings carried out by criminal groups, said Navolato Mayor Miguel Calderon.