A vigilante has been nicknamed Mexico’s “Batman” after hunting down bike thieves and taping them to lamp posts.

Police in the western state of Jalisco are searching for a suspect after at least five men were bound to poles with “ratero”, Spanish for “thief”, written on their foreheads.

Some also had cat whiskers and moustaches drawn on their faces, while others had their mouths taped shut.

Warning signs were placed beside them, and the bicycles they were accused of stealing were left nearby as apparent evidence.

The first case was reported in the city of Lagos de Moreno on June 13, when a man was discovered tied to a lamp post with a cardboard sign accusing him of being a thief.

In the following days, four more men were found restrained in almost identical circumstances.

Several of the men appeared to have been beaten before being tied up, with visible cuts, bruises and bloodied faces.

The person responsible was nicknamed the “Batman of Lagos de Moreno” by Luis Cardenes, a prominent journalist.

Local media reported the man, whose identity is not known, became frustrated with what he called inadequate law enforcement and decided to take matters into his own hands, like the fictional comic book character.

One photo shows two men duct-taped back-to-back on the pole with a pink sign above their heads and a bike left in front of them.

Juan Pablo Hernández, the state security secretary, said police had recorded five such incidents and were searching for those responsible.

Salvador González de los Santos, a Jalisco prosecutor, confirmed investigators were examining the cases in which young men had been tied to posts with signs warning others against stealing motorcycles and bicycles.

While authorities said they were investigating the allegations against the bound men, prosecutors stressed that “at this moment they are victims” because they had been unlawfully assaulted and restrained.

The men were cut free by emergency services and treated for their injuries. It remains unclear whether any are being investigated over the alleged thefts.

No arrests have been made, although police say they have identified two vehicles believed to be connected to the incidents.

Violent crime

Mexico has long struggled with high levels of violent crime, with more than 36,000 violent carjackings recorded nationwide in 2023 alone.

Motorcycle and bicycle thefts are also widespread, with stolen bikes frequently used to commit further offences. In Mexico State, authorities estimate that around 70 per cent of crimes involve motorcycles.

Jalisco, where the vigilante incidents took place, is among the country’s worst-affected regions for theft, alongside neighbouring Mexico State, home to the nation’s capital, Mexico City. More than half of all theft in Mexico occurs in these two states.

The state is also the stronghold of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent criminal organisations.

The cartel, which is estimated to have between 15,000 and 20,000 members, split from the Sinaloa Cartel in 2010 and has rapidly expanded its influence across the country.

US authorities say the CJNG is responsible for a significant share of the fentanyl and other illicit drugs trafficked into the United States, and it is now regarded as the Sinaloa Cartel’s principal rival.