Toluca (Mexico), Jul 6 (AP) A violent drug cartel is suspected of leaving a severed human leg hanging from a pedestrian bridge in the city of Toluca, just west of Mexico City.

The trunk of the body was left on the street below the bridge near the city's centre on Wednesday along with handwritten signs signed by the Familia Michoacana cartel.

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Other parts of the body were found later in another neighbourhood, also with handwritten drug cartel signs nearby. The victim was apparently a man between the ages of 35 and 40.

Two other bodies were found elsewhere in the city on Wednesday.

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In a neighbourhood on the city's east side, police found another dismembered body, along with a sign similar to those in the first case.

And later, in an industrial neighbourhood on the north side, a body was found in a burning car.

The mayor of Toluca, which is the capital of the State of Mexico, appealed for calm. The Familia Michoacana has dominated rural areas in the state for years, but may now be trying to take over the state capital.

"The issue of crime brings us all together, and we all have to fight it," said Mayor Raymundo Martínez Carbajal.

Last week, threatening banners were left in another suburb of Toluca, and they were also signed by the Familia Michoacana.

The gang originated in the neighbouring state of Michoacan in the early 2000s, and while it has been largely chased out of its home state, it has found a new lease on life in the State of Mexico and neighbouring Guerrero state.

The Familia Michoacana has become known for carrying out ruthless, bloody ambushes of police in Mexico State and local residents in Guerrero. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)