Police in the Mexico City suburb of Ciudad Neza arrested several people who were reportedly engaging in a "drug-fueled ritual" that resulted in the gouging out of a five-year-old's eyes.

According to police spokesman Fernando Chavez, the boy is in serious condition after his mother forcibly removed his eyeballs during the ceremony, allegedly because he refused to keep them shut.

No further information on the ceremony was provided, but Chavez says the detained relatives are not believed to be members of the cult of Santa Muerte.

In March, several members of the rapidly expanding cult were arrested and charged with murdering two 10-year-old boys and a 55-year-old woman as part of a ritual sacrifice.

[photo via AP]