Mexico City, Aug 26 (IANS/EFE): Kidnapped journalist Humberto Millan was found dead Thursday on the outskirts of the western Mexican city of Culiacan, authorities said.

Millan, the editor of online newspaper A Discusion and anchor of a news program on Radio Formula, was abducted at around 6 a.m. Wednesday while driving to the station's Culiacan studios to do the broadcast.

Two cars blocked his vehicle's path and "four or five" armed men grabbed Millan, A Discussion said Thursday.

"The action took no longer than 10 seconds, which, according to experts, denotes lengthy and meticulous planning," the publication said, describing the kidnappers as a "squad of outlaws".

Millan's body was found hours after some 50 leading Mexican media conglomerates issued a joint statement condemning his abduction and demanding prompt action by authorities.

The statement expressed solidarity with media professionals in Sinaloa as well as with Millan's family and friends, while hailing his more than three-decade-long career in journalism.

The death of Millan brings to 72 the number of reporters killed in Mexico since 2000, according to figures compiled by the independent National Human Rights Commission.

Sinaloa is the bastion of Mexico's most powerful drug cartel, whose fugitive boss, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, appears on the Forbes magazine list of the world's richest people.