The police chief of a small Mexican town took his own life on Friday as the army moved in to arrest him as part of an anti-corruption raid. Other top police commanders and a mayor of other towns were also detained during the raid.

The massive raids, dubbed “Operation Swarm” by federal authorities, took place in areas west of Mexico City, as well as two populous suburbs right on the edge of the nation’s capital.

Seven officers were linked to criminal groups

The federal public security department said the seven arrested officers were linked to criminal groups and were accused of crimes including extortion, kidnapping and murder. It is unclear whether formal charges have been filed against them yet.

In the case, state prosecutors said the police chief of one of the rural towns, Texcaltitlan, killed himself with his own weapon as Marines, National Guard and soldiers were trying to arrest him on unspecified charges.

The soldiers also arrested the mayor

Soldiers also arrested the mayor of the nearby town of Amanalco on various charges and detained the town's police chief and another local official. They also arrested the police chief of the city of Tejupilco, farther south.

The area around those towns has long been dominated by the violent La Familia Michoacana gang, which deals in drugs, kidnappings and extortion.

Rural areas were targeted

While some of the raids targeted rural areas, authorities also detained the assistant police chief of Naucalpan, a sprawling suburb of 775,000 residents on the northwestern edge of Mexico City.

Later, he announced the arrest of a top police chief in the suburb of Ixtapaluca, east of Mexico City, which has about 370,000 residents.