Mexican authorities said on Monday they have discovered the bodies of 15 people in mass graves at a ranch near Guadalajara in the west of the country.

"To date, in the latest findings made minutes ago, we have registered 15 bodies," state prosecutor Gerardo Octavio Solis told reporters at a press conference.

Investigation work at the site in Zapopan, a suburb town of Guadalajara, capital of western Jalisco state, has been started on April 4 as part of a probe into the recent disappearance of two people, Solis said.

Among the victims, who appear to have been buried for several weeks, is a woman, and their cause of death has yet to be determined, Solis said, adding that only two of the bodies have been identified.

Located in the southwest of the Guadalajara metropolitan area, Zapopan is famous for its Mexican handicrafts and draws many buyers from around the world.

Neighbors told investigators the ranch was being used to sell drugs.

Authorities say rival drug trafficking rings in Guadalajara and its surroundings, including the Jalisco New Generation cartel, one of Mexico's fastest growing criminal organizations, have led to killings and disappearances.

In March, investigators found nearly 20 bodies floating in a sewage canal south of Guadalajara.

Xinhua