An American woman died in the crossfire of an apparent drug deal gone bad at a popular Mexican beach resort in the municipality of Tulum.
The Quintana Roo State Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation into the Feb. 9 incident which saw the death of an alleged drug dealer from Belize and an American woman, later identified as 44-year-old Los Angeles native Niko Honarbakhsh, according to ABC News.
The dead man had cocaine and “transparent bags with red and orange pills” as well as bags with “brown granulated powder” in his possession when he was killed, leading the prosecutor’s office to determine that he was likely a drug dealer and part of a gang.
Local reports tried to connect the pair and indicated they were involved in a relationship, but the prosecutor’s office dismissed these reports as inaccurate, according to a statement.
Prosecutors maintain that Honarbakhsh died as a result of a stray bullet. Both bodies will undergo autopsies as part of the investigation.
Prosecutors have identified suspects and have started pursuing leads to apprehend them. None of the suspects have been named.
Other tourists in recent years have died in gang-related crossfire in Tulum. Two such tourists, which included a California travel blogger and a German, were killed in 2021 while eating in a restaurant after rival drug dealers started shooting each other.
Tulum is located south of Cancun and just a few hours north of the border with Belize, which also sits on the coast of the Caribbean Sea.
Source: Noticaribe
