In a shocking video, a dog was caught on camera running down the streets of a Mexican town with a human head between its jaws.

The video, which was taken in the town of Zacatecas, showed the canine running down a sidewalk with the severed head.

Shortly after the visuals went posted on social media, the police announced this was connected to the local drug cartel-related crimes. There has reportedly been a spurt in crimes and murders related to the flourishing drug trade in the area recently, which often led to bloody wars breaking out between rival gangs.

The head and other body parts had previously been discovered Wednesday at an automatic teller booth in Monte Escobedo, according to a law enforcement official, who did not want to be identified, a report by the Associated Press said.

The dismembered body parts had a message next to them, which strongly indicated the gruesome crime was the result of a drug-related fallout, NY Post reported. The police said they were in the process of recovering the parts when the dog came off with the head.

However, it wasn't clear when the video was taken.

Later, the police chased down the canine and pried loose the head from its mouth.

The town of Zacatecas often sees bloody duels between the rival Sinaloa and Jalisco drug cartels, and the residents are no strangers to seeing blood and gore in abandoned locations around town. The remains of human bodies often have messages intended for rival gangs (as a warning) or as open challenges to the police and town authorities.

Finding severed heads was also not a novelty in the crime-riddled nation. Early this year in June, seven men were found dead with warning messages pasted on their corpses. The messages had references to the infamous Gulf Cartel, which operated in the north along the U.S.-Mexican border.

In March, six severed heads were discovered atop a Volkswagen in Chilapa located in southwestern Mexico, reported Reuters. The heads came with a message that said: "In Chilapa selling crystal, kidnapping, extortion and stealing are strictly prohibited. This will happen to anyone who messes around." The six have not been identified yet.

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AFP