Bodies of five men found naked with signs of torture as murder probe launched

The bodies of five men who were found naked and with signs of torture has sparked a huge murderprobe in Puerto Rico.

Three of the bodies were found piled up near a church in Carolina, just east of the capital, San Juan, on Tuesday. Two other bodies were found in similar circumstances in Santurce, San Juan on the same day and detectivesbelieve at this early stage the deaths could be related to drug trafficking.

Police have said all five bodies present similar markings. "It's probably related to drug trafficking, but we're not going to dismiss other angles," Police superintendent Joseph Gonzalez told El Nuevo Dia newspaper.

One of the victims has been identified as an 18-year-old man, while the other four bodies are yet to be identified. According to local media, two of the men had their hands tied behind their backs, while two also appeared to have sustained gunshot wounds. There was also a victim with at least one severed finger, according to El Nuevo Dia.

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“We are not going to rule out that they are related because of the characteristics of the two scenes, that they are naked and tortured,” Gonzalez said.

Detectives believe the bodies found in Carolina were killed in another location, with the men appearing to "have sand and some type of dirt on them".

Gonzalez added that "they have signs that they were dragged", while in San Juan police officers discovered shell casings nearby. The police chief added that this type of violence "is not common in Puerto Rico”.

“Yes, we have seen somewhat similar scenes in the past, but we are not going to allow it. All units are on the street to clear up this case,” he said.

Mabel Olivera, director of the Criminal Investigation Unit (CIC) of Carolina, earlier confirmed that "absolutely nothing is ruled out in an investigation".

Edwin Figueroa, director of the CIC of San Juan, added: "The two bodies in the San Juan area were found with similar characteristics to the bodies found in Carolina.

"The superintendent has allocated all the resources at our disposal, such as the Drug, Intelligence, and Stolen Vehicles divisions. We are working to identify the bodies as an initial stage of the investigation and then move forward."

Puerto Rico has historically served as a transit route for narcotics destined for the US mainland and international markets. The island, which has a population of 3.2 million people, reported 344 killings this year as of Wednesday, compared with 379 in the same period last year.