MEXICO CITY, June 30 (Reuters) - Sixteen Mexican state security ministry employees were freed on Friday after being kidnapped earlier this week in the southern state of Chiapas, authorities said, following a three-day search. The employees, all men, were kidnapped Tuesday by an armed group on a highway near the state capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez after leaving work, authorities said. More than 1,000 federal and state agents joined the search, and two people were detained earlier this week. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Chiapas' security ministry told Reuters that the employees were not police officers but administration workers, adding, "Nothing like this has ever happened." Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Isabel Woodford; Editing by Sarah Morland and Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Tuxtla Gutierrez, Lizbeth Diaz, Isabel Woodford, Sarah Morland, Leslie Adler Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Reuters, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Chiapas, Tuxtla