A rotting body was found on Friday in the trunk of a car parked near the stadium where Iran’s FIFA World Cup team is training in Mexico.
The gruesome discovery came with games under way in the tournament, which is being jointly hosted by Mexico, the US and Canada.
Reporters watched as police in Tijuana opened the trunk of the gray Toyota SUV, which had California plates, in the parking lot of a supermarket directly across from the Caliente Stadium, where Team Melli are training as they prepare for three games in the US.
Photo: AFP
Specialists in white protective suits worked around the vehicle to examine the corpse before removing it.
The prosecutor’s office in Tijuana said the body had been discovered by a patrol unit.
“Upon inspecting the vehicle, they found a person wrapped in a black bag in the trunk, showing signs of violence,” a spokesman said, adding that the car was believed to have been abandoned on Wednesday.
Temperatures in the city have reached up to 28°C in the past few days, with hot sunshine beating down for hours every day.
Mexico is plagued by powerful drug gangs and has one of the world’s highest murder rates.
Tijuana, which sits on the border with the US, is notoriously dangerous, with more than 1,200 homicides recorded there last year, according to official statistics.
The Iranian national team, whose participation in FIFA’s football extravaganza had been clouded by war with the US, had planned to have their training camp in Arizona, but moved to Mexico amid ongoing hostilities.
Since its arrival, the team has been under heavy security and is escorted between the hotel and the stadium by armed soldiers.
On Friday, the convoy left the stadium just minutes after the body had been removed.
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