‘El Moño,’ alleged La Unión Tepito member, ordered to stand trial on drug and firearms charges

A Mexico City judge ordered Hugo Alexis “N,” known as “El Moño,” to stand trial after authorities identified him as an alleged member of La Unión Tepito and accused him of drug-related crimes and carrying a firearm reserved for the armed forces.

Police from Mexico City’s Secretariat of Citizen Security arrested him on Aug. 27 in the Morelos neighborhood, according to the capital’s prosecutor’s office. Authorities said he had drugs and a firearm when officers detained him.

Intelligence work by the Mexico City prosecutor’s office identified “El Moño” as a possible source of violence in the city’s central area. It also linked him to La Unión Tepito, a criminal group associated with the sale and distribution of narcotics and extortion.

At the Sept. 3 hearing, the public prosecutor presented interviews with the arresting officers, along with photographic, chemical and ballistic expert reports. The judge found sufficient evidence to order the case to proceed, imposed preventive detention and allowed one month and 15 days to complete the complementary investigation.

Because carrying a firearm reserved for the armed forces falls under federal jurisdiction, the judge referred that part of the case to Mexico’s federal prosecutor’s office.