Mexico footballer Alan Pulido rescued after kidnapping

Pulido, a striker on Greece's Olympiakos team, was kidnapped on Sunday in his home in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

Military and police forces had been searching for the 25-

year-old in the state of

Tamaulipas

 

Mexican football player Alan Pulido, who was recently kidnapped, has been rescued safe and sound, Mexican authorities said.

Pulido, a striker on Greece's Olympiakos team, was kidnapped on Sunday in his home in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, law enforcement officials said.

Family members told authorities that six armed men snatched Pulido around dawn in his hometown of Ciudad Victoria in the northwest of the country.

Military and police forces had been searching for the 25-year-old in Tamaulipas, which shares a border with the US.

It is one of Mexico's most dangerous states, where drug trafficking and kidnappings are rampant.

Certain roads are so dangerous that the federal police sometimes escort travelers in protective convoys.

Tamaulipas is home to the Gulf and Zetas drug cartels, two criminal groups that were once allies but have fought brutal turf wars in recent years.

While they have both been weakened by the captures or killings of top leaders, their members still sow fear in the population.

About 5,000 people are listed as "disappeared" in Tamaulipas, out of the total 26,000 people reported missing in Mexico last year.

But according to the non-governmental organization Families and Friends of the Disappeared in Tamaulipas, 11,000 people are unaccounted for in the state.

Pulido was a member of the Mexican team at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, though he did not see any playing time during the tournament.