Landing a federal gig in Mexico might seem to be the ideal situation, but membership has its price. Carrying a high-level security pass won't cut it at the Attorney General's headquarters. Instead, clearance can only be attained through a subcutaneous microchip implant - the sort generally used to keep tabs on cows and pigs.

According to Antonio Aceves, the director of Mexico's distributor of the microchips, the country's top federal prosecutors and investigators, as well as Attorney-General Rafael Macedo de la Concha and 160 of his workers, have all been implanted. A spokesperson at the Attorney-General's office refused to comment on Aceves' claims, but Macedo himself recently told reporters that the chips had become mandatory for anyone needing access to a new anti-crime centre.

While the current generation of microchips only provides a means of identifying a person, Aceves hopes to eventually provide the Mexican government with implants that allow a person to be tracked wherever they go.

» Scott Saxon