CHILPANCINGO, Mexico, Nov 7, 2011 (AFP) - Mexican police discovered 19 prostitutes, two sacks of marijuana and 100 roosters for cock fighting in a surprise inspection of a jail in the resort city of Acapulco, authorities said Monday.

The discovery came as 500 federal officers prepared to transfer some 60 inmates to maximum security prisons overnight Sunday to Monday, said Arturo Martinez, spokesman for federal anti-drug operations in the western state of Guerrero.

Police also found six female prisoners in the men's section of the jail, as well as sharp weapons, two peacocks, and luxury items such as plasma TVs, he said.

"We're investigating the probable culprits," said Martinez, spokesman for the federal operation which is working to stem a wave of violence blamed on organized crime in the region.

Guerrero state, where Acapulco is located, has the third highest rate of murders in Mexico after the northern border states of Chihuahua and Nuevo Leon.

In the first nine months of 2011 some 1,348 people were murdered in Guerrero, according to an October tally from daily Reforma.

Mexico's overcrowded jails are rife with corruption and see frequent violence including riots, killings and breakouts.