"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat
A study by the company specialized in private security Círculo Logístico has identified that six cartels and 74 armed groups in the country have taken over the crime of highway merchandise theft. Here the results
The times when robbers randomly “hit” trailers loaded with merchandise are long gone. For at least three years, organized crime has been implementing technology and strategies that are used in war conflicts along the country's roads, with the aim of precisely looting the best-selling products on the black market.
A study by the company specialized in private security Círculo Logístico has identified that six cartels and 74 armed groups in the country have taken over the crime of theft of merchandise on highways – which leaves profits for organized crime of at least 4.1 billion dollars a year – with an increase in the use of violence and tactics similar to those used by armies at war.
To do so, they have made their way through employees of industrial parks and distribution centers with bullets and death threats to force them to hand over the schedules, routes and license plates of those who will be their targets of attack. In addition, they specifically track the trucks using drones with GPS jammers to deactivate the companies' satellite monitoring.
“We have calculated that 20% of the people in the (transportation and distribution) industry who work with them do so for money; but 80% of these people are directly threatened with death, or their families,” says Héctor Romero, also vice president of the Security and Justice Commission of the Employers' Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex).
“Until a few years ago, highway robbers brought small, short weapons and did not use them in robberies. They used surprise and shock tactics more. Today they are using high-powered rifles, weapons modified to pierce the armor of cargo trucks. We are already facing a new phase of crime,” he describes.
The criminals use war equipment to carry out the robberies
Criminals from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Gulf Cartel, Northeast Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel, La Unión Tepito Cartel and what remains of the Tláhuac Cartel carry, for example, high voltage batteries to “blow up” the electromagnetic security plates, as well as radio frequency equipment that interferes with surveillance cameras to prevent videos from being recorded inside and outside the trailers at the time of the theft.
On the other hand, their armed forces dedicated to huachicoleo, trafficking of undocumented migrants or weapons are using caltrops made with high-resistance materials, such as those thrown at the passage of military convoys, or high-precision rifles of Russian origin – 12.7 x108 mm, for example – to pierce tires from a distance, even if they have rubber covering them.
“They are going to do everything possible to obtain very specific merchandise that we already have perfectly located and that is the one that is causing the most violence on the country's roads,” says Héctor Romero.
The assaulted trucks normally bring merchandise from the Boss, Zegna and CK (Ariel Ojeda) brands.
From chilies to Boss, Zegna and CK
In 2023, the most stolen things on roads and highways were food and drinks, followed by appliances, construction materials, auto parts, clothing and footwear. And in categories this broad, organized crime has very specific tastes.
In food and beverages, the company Círculo Logístico identified that the priority objectives are usually cookies, cans of chili peppers and tuna. These robberies usually occur around 5:00 a.m. so that by 7:00 a.m. at the latest they are already in the inventories of the flea market stalls and markets supplied by organized crime, according to Héctor Romero.
By noon, the trace of that merchandise will have been lost, while the National Guard is just interrogating the assaulted driver.
Among household appliances, flat screens, irons, washing machines, radios and headphones are magnets for organized crime.
“And this is worse during the Christmas season or around Mother's Day. The cartels steal more and with greater violence, but with a different logic than that of food and drinks: they do not resell, but rather they give it away. And they do it to gain the protection of vulnerable neighbors under the pretext of taking from the rich to give to the poor,” explains Romero.
After these goods, they are followed by the highly coveted construction material, mainly cement, sand and rods; Carrying that requires as much secrecy as if it were gold, oil or water in times of drought. Then, auto parts that are usually damaged in crashes, such as windows, bumpers and fenders, are coveted by crime.
“And the clothes, of course. It is already very dangerous to transport branded clothing in this country. But not just any type or brand. There is a fixation on sportswear and very particular brands such as Hugo Boss, Ermenegildo Zegna, Calvin Klein... The most stolen items are pants, shirts, belts and, for women, underwear," says the specialist.
Extreme violence against drivers
In recent years, he accuses, “on-demand robberies” have also grown, that is, cartels ask armed forces to go after specific merchandise at all costs.
These tend to be the most violent robberies, as criminal organizations pay smaller groups an advance to guarantee the robbery; If they are not achieved, the armed forces must return that money and even pay a kind of “fine” for non-compliance.
These are the cases that typically circulate virally on social networks: criminals who shoot at the driver as soon as they have set foot outside the car, who do not hesitate to burst the metal plates with bullets because they know perfectly well what is inside, who have accomplices spread over several sections so as not to fail with theft from the company.
“In some cases, as the drivers themselves have told me, they don't just hit or block them. We have had cases of drivers being raped,” says Héctor Romero.
These are not sexual assaults in which pleasure is sought, but rather humiliating the other so that they know who are the ones who have the power on the roads.
Many drivers have had to create their own strategies to get to safety. Some travel with the bed of the truck or trailer open – even if that warrants a violation – so that criminals can see that they do not have cargo; Others put low-end cell phones in their shoes, but with GPS, to help their relatives locate them if they are missing in the hope that the battery lasts long enough to be found.
It is also common that robbery begins after traffic accidents or robberies
Technology and security become more expensive
The above contributes to inflation for buyers, an increase that responds not only to the losses caused by product theft, but also to the violence associated with it.
“Consumers notice this in the final price of the goods,” confirms Romero. “Everything has increased, on average, 20% in the value of the product, because transportation companies have to spend more and more on security. And due to the violence and technology of crime, this protection is very expensive, because you have to be, at least, on par with the cartels.”
State-of-the-art ceramic armor, low-weight ballistic vests that allow the operator to run to protect his life, high-precision GPS that resists organized crime inhibitors, electromagnetic and automatic closing plates, closed video surveillance circuits in cabins and vehicles escorts that function as a wall against criminals are the measures that companies hire and implement the most.
High-precision GPS that resists organized crime inhibitors
The prices of insurance against theft have also gone through the roof, explains the specialist. For many companies they are already priceless, especially for those who work on the routes of the State of Mexico, Puebla, Hidalgo, Tlaxcala and Veracruz, which is where the most thefts occur and where the most drivers disappear.
“The most expensive product is the one that doesn't make it to the shelf. It is very expensive for a company if its merchandise is not in the stores and the competition's is, so millions of pesos are paid in security, but many times even then it cannot be guaranteed that the chicken, avocado, canned or sugar arrive to the municipalities. That is a misfortune".
Given this reality, the private company Círculo Logístico estimates that in Mexico there is a deficit of about 70,000 freight transport drivers for fear of being the next victims of organized crime.
The older ones retire earlier; The youngest ones don't even attend to the calls. Many others emigrate looking for work in the United States, where higher salaries are offered. Those who stay know that they are going to an office of death.
The company Círculo Logístico estimates that in Mexico there is a deficit of 70 thousand drivers who have been victims of highway robbery.
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