Five human heads were found hanging from ropes on a beach in southwestern Ecuador, police said on Sunday. Next to the heads was a warning sign directed at alleged extortionists of fishermen in the small fishing port of Puerto Lopez. The ropes were fixed to wooden poles on the beach.

The police attributed the incident to a conflict between criminal groups. Drug-trafficking networks with links to transnational cartels are active in the area and have used fishermen and their small boats for their illicit activities, according to authorities. A dispute for territory and control of drug-trafficking routes has triggered violent episodes across the Manabi province, where Puerto Lopez is located.