The 18 individuals were handed over to Guerrero Attorney General's Office personnel Tuesday night on condition that they will be investigated for allegedly having links to drug traffickers, a Union of Peoples and Organizations of Guerrero State, or UPOEG, spokesman told Efe.

The vigilante group in Tierra Colorada, a city of 20,000 located about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from the Pacific resort of Acapulco, belongs to UPOEG.

Police chief Oscar Ulises Valle and the other suspects arrived at the AG's office in Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero, around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and gave prosecutors statements.

The 18 suspects were later taken to jail, where they will be held until prosecutors decide whether charges will be filed against them.

Hundreds of armed members of the self-defense group took control early Tuesday of Tierra Colorada in an effort to find the killers of Guadalupe Quiñonez, a 27-year-old who served as the vigilante group's leader.