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Three Mexican film students whose disappearance last month sparked large-scale protests in the city of Guadalajara were beaten, killed and their bodies dissolved in acid, Mexican authorities said Monday.

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the gruesome crime, said officials of the attorney general’s office in Jalisco state, which includes Guadalajara. Arrest warrants have been issued for six other suspects.

The investigation is continuing, the Jalisco state attorney general, Raul Sanchez, told reporters in a videotaped news conference providing shocking new details on the closely watched case.

Prosecutors blamed a “criminal group”— which they believe to be the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel — for the crime. Dissolving human remains in acid to conceal traces of slain victims is a tactic associated with drug cartels in Mexico.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.