Mexico City, Jun 7 (IANS): Human remains found inside 45 bags last week in a ravine outside the Mexican city of Guadalajara, have been confirmed to be of seven call centre workers who had been missing since last month, authorities confirmed.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences (IJCF) said that its tests had confirmed the remains belonged to the missing workers and said the next of kin had been informed, reports CBB.

It did not however, specify whether the remains from all seven of the missing workers were in the bags.

The seven workers disappeared from the metropolitan area of Guadalajara sometime after May 20.

According to government figures, more than 100,000 people are currently missing across Mexico, with many being victims of organised crime, the BBC reported.

Government data has revealed that many disappearances have occurred since 2007, when then-President Felipe Calderon launched his "war on drugs".

Three quarters of those reported missing were men and one fifth were under the age of 18 at the time of their disappearance.

Jalisco is the heartland of a violent drug war, and some of the most powerful groups operating there include the Jalisco New Generation cartel, and their rival, Nueva Plaza, which split from the CJNG in 2017, sparking violence across Guadalajara, the state capital.