Two Canadian "gunmen" arrested in Playa del Carmen are alleged by local press to have organized crime links

Nabbed with handguns and ammunition at a strip club purportedly connected to dreaded Los Zetas

Canadians Stewart Goldstein, 50, and Daniel Selcer, 25, appeared in Cozumel criminal court today, together with the evidence of their crimes

*Updated Jan. 17 - Canadian Embassy in Mexico replies to MGRR*
Cancún, Quintana Roo -
In Playa del Carmen, one of the Riviera Maya's premier tourist destinations, two Canadians were arrested yesterday and charged with violating Mexico's strict weapons laws. The charges could land them behind bars for years.

Daniel Selcer, 25, and Stewart Goldstein, 50, were taken into custody early Tuesday morning after their "luxury SUV" was spotted in the parking lot of Chilly Willy’s, a popular strip club and table dance establishment which authorities claim has links to the feared Los Zetas drug cartel.

The nightclub had been under combined federal, state and local surveillance since Monday evening, with multiple law enforcement agencies focused on seizing drugs and arms. Suspicions were aroused when two large SUVs parked in Chilly Willy's lot, one displaying Canadian plates and the other none.

Security forces decided to search the vehicles when the occupants exited the club and prepared to drive away. After discovering several handguns and ammunition, police arrested Selcer, the driver, and Goldstein, a passenger, at the scene.

There is no indication that the men had been targeted before their arrival at the club. Warrantless, on the spot searches are common in Mexico. Probable cause standards, mandatory in Anglo-American jurisdictions, receive little if any recognition here in routine street encounters between police and suspects. Reasonable suspicion is decided by officers on the scene, applying their own sense of the situation rather than textbook legal principles.

Three other persons were released. They were identified as Judith Berger, 56, Lee Aaron Goldstein, 19, and David Leo, 20. All are said to be from Quebec.

A Quintana Roo press source, which transposed Stewart Goldstein's name in its account, claims the two arrested men could be the "heads of an international criminal organization operating in the Riviera Maya," colorfully describing them as pistoleros canadienses. But prosecutors have not yet charged the men with organized crime membership or any other crime.

The accused were transported by boat to Cozumel, where they'll make their first appearance before a Public Ministry magistrate today. They're facing serious federal firearms and explosives law offenses.

Formal consular notice?
It's unclear whether Canada's consular office in Cancún has received official notification of yesterday's detention of Selcer and Goldstein. The Canadian consul has not responded to an MGRR inquiry seeking confirmation. Mexico has sometimes failed to comply with treaty obligations and international law norms, which require it to promptly notify a country whose citizens have been placed under arrest. The most high profile example is the case of French national Florence Cassez, who has served seven years of a 60 year sentence for kidnapping and other crimes. Her case will be argued a second time before Mexico's Supreme Judicial Court a week from today. Cassez' attorneys are seeking her immediate release, since France was not timely notified of her arrest in Dec. 2005. Defense lawyers claim the failure to promptly notify consular officials tainted the proceeding, enabling prosecutors to use inadmissible evidence and statements, and resulting in Cassez' self-incrimination.

Jan. 20 - Weapons seizures in Mexico soared under president Felipe Calderón
Oct. 27 - Mexican Army commander: Cancún and Playa del Carmen police are infiltrated by narcos
Aug. 5 - On Playa del Carmen's famous Fifth Avenue, drug market flourishes and "anarchy prevails"

Jan. 16 - Is there a bona fide "Candian Mafia" with direct involvement in Mexican drug trafficking? This just published article says there is, and relies upon a detailed report in The Washington Post. The Canadian network had operations in British Columbia and Quebec, and transported drugs to the New York City market. It was financed in part by the Sinaloa Cartel of El Chapo Guzmán, the most wanted narcotics trafficker in the world. The Canadian boss was identified as Jimmy Cosmo Cournoyer, who was arrested in Cancún last spring. Mexico deported him to Canada, but he was detained by the Drug Enforcement Administration in route, during a stop over in the U.S. The Canadian traffickers allegedly grossed a billion dollars from the ring, peddling marijuana and cocaine on NYC streets. With the assistance of local gangs, including the infamous Hells Angels, drugs were moved across Canada in trucks and mobile homes to their final destination. The huge network operated at least five years.

Jan. 17 - Background on Stewart Goldstein's Canadian legal woes, courtesy of The Montreal Gazette

Jan. 17 - Late today Canadian Embassy in Mexico Communications and Media Relations Officer Gloria Antonetti advised MGRR as follows: "Consular services are being provided to two Canadian citizens who have been arrested in Mexico. Canadian officials are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information." MGRR appreciates the update and thanks Ms. Antonetti for her reply.

U.S. media weeps for poor Jon Hammar
Dec. 22 - With a little help from his friends, Jon Hammar released
Dec. 14 - U.S. denies Congressional Medal of Honor to Mexican Marine who threw himself on grenade, saving 12 GIs.

Canadians who found trouble in Mexico
Jan. 30, 2013 - RCMP criminal affidavit supports Mexico's case against Canadian Cynthia Vanier
Jan. 4, 2013 - Canadian national faces manslaughter charge in Jalisco
Mar. 24, 2012 - Canadian released in triple homicide case
Feb. 21, 2012 - Canadian national faces manslaughter charges in Feb. 5 crash that killed three
June 6, 2012 - Canadian woman facing long sentence in Gaddafi smuggling case will stay in jail
May 10, 2012 - "Naive" Canadian gangsters pay heavily doing business with Mexican drug cartels
Jan. 16, 2012 - Canadian murdered on Pacific coast - but lingering questions and mystery remain

CBC News report on Canadian drug traffickers in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, May 2012