Hitman only a boy

Mexican police are searching for a 12-year-old boy hired as a hitman by a drug cartel, Morelos state prosecutors say.

Police have been searching for the boy, known only by his nickname "El Ponchis", since October, after military forces released him due to his young age.

He had earlier been arrested along with six suspected hitmen for the South Pacific Cartel.

The suspects allegedly confessed they had killed several men found hanging from bridges in Cuernavaca.

They said the boy was in charge of cutting off the victims' heads and genitalia, according to local media.