State prosecutor Enrique Gil confirmed the bodies had been found in three different areas but did not provide further details about when or how they had been killed.

The Pacific coast resort, once known as a glamorous getaway for Hollywood celebrities, has been struggling to distance itself from a series of brutal killings by rival cartels.

In January police found 15 decapitated bodies, believed to have been victims of the fighting waged by the La Familia, Los Zetas and Beltran Leyva gangs over control of the key point of entry for drugs heading north to the United States.

More than 34,600 people have been killed in drug related violence in Mexico since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon deployed soldiers and federal police in a widespread crackdown on the illegal cartels.