Police have nabbed the head of a criminal gang believed to be responsible for the killing of more than 20 people in the Mexican resort city of Acapulco, officials said Sunday.

Jose Lozano Martinez, who goes by the nickname "El Lozano," was arrested along with six others on Thursday in a raid, they said.

Public security officials said the 21-year-old had acknowledged participating in the killing of 22 people earlier this month in Acapulco.

He and his associates are linked to the so-called Independent Acapulco Cartel (CIDA), which was led by Edgar Valdez Villarreal, alias "La Barbie," until he was arrested on August 30.

The Acapulco gang is in a bloody turf war with other cartels for control of the lucrative narcotics trade. The battle has killed some 30 people this month, including 15 who were found beheaded in the beach resort.

Some 34,600 people have been killed since 2006, when President Felipe Calderon launched a clampdown on the country's powerful gangs involving tens of thousands of troops, according to official figures.