Tegucigalpa, October 8 (NNN-RHC) -- Honduran police have arrested two leaders of the local drug cartel Los Valles near the Guatemalan border. The head of the National Police, Ramon Sabillon, announced that the two were arrested on Sunday in the region of Copan. He said that with these arrests, organised crime in the country has been dealt a severe blow.

The Los Valles cartel is thought to be responsible for the trafficking of thousands of kilos of cocaine into the United States via Guatemala.

The government of Honduras has dealt several blows against this particular cartel in recent months. A brother of the duo was arrested earlier along with a sister.

Honduras has been dealing with an epidemic of crime and violence over the last decade, which has been exacerbated since the 2009 coup against the democratically-elected government of Manuel Zelaya.

Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world, with 79 murders per 100,000 people in 2013.