TIJUANA, Mexico -- The police officers were expecting to receive an evaluation of their work.

Instead, soldiers and federal police stormed a meeting Wednesday at a state police academy in the border city of Tecate, ordering dozens of officers -- including several chiefs and commanders -- to hand over their guns. They then placed them under arrest.

Twenty-one city police from Tijuana and Tecate and 20 state ministerial police were flown to Mexico City overnight, the attorney general's office announced.

Deputy Attorney General Jose Jorge Campos said none has yet been formally charged, but he said the case was linked to efforts to stamp out drug trafficking.