MEXICO CITY - The Mexican Navy announced Monday the detention of 35 police officers in eastern Mexico for alleged involvement with the Zetas drug cartel.

The Navy said in a statement that 19 were captured in Veracruz state capital of Xalapa and 16 in neighboring San Luis Potosi state, among whom were four women.

"All of them were police officers in the Ministry of Public Security of Veracruz and allegedly collaborated with the criminal organization of Los Zetas," said the statement.

The captured were brought to Mexico City before the public prosecutor under the Office of Special Investigations into Organized Crimes.

Veracruz has been one of the main states that suffered drug-related violence and witnessed the killings of 35 people last September.

The Zetas, a gang formed in the 1990s by deserters of special military forces, is seen as one of the most powerful drug trafficking groups in Mexico.

The Mexican government has deployed thousands of troops and police forces in a bid to curb violence between Zetas and rival groups since launching "Safe Veracruz Operation" last October.