The mayor of Tequila, the small Jalisco city widely regarded as the birthplace of bottled tequila, was arrested by Mexican authorities Thursday along with three other municipal officials accused of extorting beer and tequila companies, according to The New York Times.

Mayor Diego Rivera Navarro, a member of Mexico’s governing Morena party, was detained as part of a federal crackdown known as Operation Swarm, which targets criminal networks that co-opt local officials, The Times reported. In a statement cited by the newspaper, officials accused Navarro of exploiting Tequila’s city council to extort business owners and merchants and divert public funds. 

Tequila’s director of public safety, director of the tax registry, and the director of public works were also arrested. Mexican authorities are investigating the four individuals for alleged ties to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the country’s most powerful criminal groups, The Times said. 

Jalisco’s attorney general, Salvador González de los Santos, told reporters in December that his office was investigating an extortion complaint against Navarro and other officials filed by Grupo Cuervo, the family company behind José Cuervo tequilas, according to the report. 

Mexican authorities last year arrested another mayor in Jalisco, accusing him of colluding with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel to operate a recruitment and training center at a ranch where charred human remains were recovered, the newspaper said. 

Read more at The New York Times