Mexico City to punish tweets on police checkpoints

Some Twitter users are revealing the locations of police drunk-driving checkpoints in Mexico City and the people behind the tweets could be prosecuted, police said.

Mexico City Public Safety Department spokesman Julio Iver said it is illegal for anyone to "divulge privileged information on police agencies," but he did not say what sanctions the Twitter users could face.

Mexico City police change the location of the breath-test checkpoints each day to discourage drunk driving.

Police cannot do roving tests from their patrol cars, because the city requires that a doctor be present to administer the exams.

A Twitter account has been tweeting the location of the checkpoints since at least December, apparently allowing motorists to avoid them.

Called "Anti Breath Test," the account now has over 3400 followers.

The city's criminal code sets out fines of NZ$600 to NZ$3000, and jail terms of six months to five years, for anyone who "in any way assists a criminal in avoiding investigation by legally constituted authorities or in escaping from them."

As of Monday, the account continued active, with tweets from users with nicknames like "drinkspiration," warning about checkpoints and badmouthing the police threat of prosecution.

- AP