This is the moment a thug throws a Molotov cocktail in a tortilla shop in Mexico after its owners allegedly refused to pay protection money.

The security camera footage, which has been doing the rounds on social media, was filmed inside the tortilla shop in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero State, on 10th November.

It shows how a man arrives at the store, where a woman is waiting to serve customers.

He can be seen taking a bottle from his rucksack and lighting the fuse before throwing it into the tortilla machine.

He and the woman then run out of the store as it is rapidly consumed by flames and black smoke.

Local media reported that tortilla shop owners in the area have long been complaining to authorities about being charged protection money and having to suffer consequences if they refuse to pay it.

Several tortilla shop owners closed their businesses in June for three days to get authorities to act on the problem.

Local media described the problem of extortion in the area as “organised delinquency”.

It is not clear if the arsonist seen in the footage has been identified or caught.