The five men were lined up and gagged

The five men were lined up and gagged (Image: NC)

Five young Mexican men who were murdered by a drug cartel were lured to meet gang members on the understanding that they were being offered jobs, before they were ordered to join the criminal organisation, it has been claimeinal

The boyhood friends, who were all aged between 19 and 22, were last seen on August 11 in the town of Lagos de Moreno in central Mexico.

Eyewitnesses told local reporter Hector De Mauleon that 10 armed men grabbed them from their car in San Miguel, forced them onto a white pickup truck and a van with blacked-out windows.

A sickening video has seen circulated on social media, in which the five men were kneeling with their mouths strapped shut with duct tape. Their faces were bruised and bleeding.The men were forced to lie down, and one of them was made to beat, stab and then decapitate his helpless friend.READ MORE Mum's horror after son murdered by 'monstrous' ninja sword purchased online

The suspected scene of the crime

The suspected scene of the crime (Image: GETTY )

The Attorney General’s Office found the property where the grim video was allegedly taken in a neighbourhood called La Orilla del Agua.In the following hours, the authorities uncovered a farm with the burnt remains of four people. They are looking into whether the remains are of four of the five youngsters.

A fifth body was located in the boot of a torched Volkswagen Jetta, discovered still on fire early on Monday morning on a highway between Lagos de Moreno and Encarnacion Diaz.

The five victims were Roberto Olmeda, 20; Diego Lara, 20; Uriel Galván, 19; Dante Cedillo, 22; and Jaime Martínez, 21.

Diego Lara, 20, was one of the victims

Diego Lara, 20, was one of the victims (Image: Facebook)

It has emerged that Dante Cedillo was an up-and-coming professional cyclist that had two national olympic gold medals to his name.

The five may have been attracted to a meeting with the cartel kingpins by the promise of work.The five may have been attracted to a meeting with the cartel kingpins by the promise of work.

At least two of the five had made contact with someone they knew who had a contact at a call centre that was looking to hire part-time security staff.

According to the El Universal newspaper, federal sources told the publication that the five victims had arranged to meet the call centre contact during the annual celebrations to honour the patron saint - the Feria of Lagod de Moreno.

As the partying began to quieten down, one of the five texted a relative at 10.55pm to say they were on the way home.

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