WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. (AP) — Google, so far, has won the search engine wars. Now it wants to take on Mexico’s powerful drug cartels and other global crime.

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt has a keen interest in the cartel problem in Mexico — and is discussing the issue with U.S. and Mexican law enforcement at a California conference this week.

Google’s ideas include creating a network so citizens can safely report cartel activity without fear of retribution. It wants to make sharing real-time intelligence easier among police in different regions.

It also can identify how individuals are connected to each other, to bank accounts and even to corrupt government officials.

Schmidt spoke at a conference organized by Google Inc.’s think tank, Google Ideas, and the Council of Foreign Relations.

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