Mexico arrests Los Zetas gang 'leader' in Monterrey

Stolen buses as well as cars were used for roadblocks

An alleged leader of one of Mexico's most powerful and violent drug cartels has been arrested, security forces say.

Hector Raul Luna Luna is said to be the head of the Los Zetas gang in the north-eastern city of Monterrey, Mexico's third largest city.

Officials said on Wednesday he was captured by soldiers in a suburb of the city, which is a key industrial hub.

In response, gunmen hijacked cars and temporarily set up at least 10 roadblocks in Monterrey.

Convoys of armed men also attacked police stations, according to local reports.

The Ministry of Defence said Hector Raul Luna Luna was responsible for assaults on Mexican soldiers and a 2008 failed grenade attack on the US consulate in Monterrey, the Associated Press reports.

The arrest brings to light the presence of organised crime in a city that used to be known as one of the safest in Latin America, the BBC's Julian Miglierini in Monterrey reports.

As in other areas of Mexico, kidnaps and shootings between the drugs barons and the security forces have become frequent.

Residents fear that the city - capital of Nuevo Leon state - has been drawn abruptly into the country's drugs conflict, our correspondent adds.