A truck transporting 33 tons of gold and silver concentrate was hijacked by armed assailants in Mexico this week, resulting in multimillion-dollar losses for mining company Grupo Minero Bacis.
The truck was on its way to the Pacific port of Manzanillo when it was stopped and ambushed by highway thieves using two white vehicles, according to a statement from the company, according to Mexico News Daily.
The attackers reportedly assaulted the driver and security guards, then held them hostage for 90 minutes. The truck was later recovered, while the trailer containing the precious metals was missing.
Grupo Minero Bacis has not yet finalized the exact financial damage, but confirmed that the loss is worth millions of dollars. The incident is part of a massive increase in cargo theft across Mexico, according to Bloomberg.
Robbery attempts rose more than 33 percent in the first two months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to Hector Romero, president of Circulo Logistico.
Overall, cargo thefts in Mexico totaled more than 24,000 cases in 2024, a 16 percent increase year-over-year, based on data from risk consultancy Overhaul. Mexico trails the United States and Europe in the total number of thefts, though leads the world in cargo loss relative to economic activity.
“Transporting cargo in Latin America’s second-largest economy has become a very significant problem that has fundamentally broken our supply chains," said Romero. The theft problem is especially a problem in Mexico when compared to regional peers. Brazil, for example, cargo theft incidents have not increased at the same rate as Mexico.
The methods used in these heists are increasingly aggressive, says Bloomberg. Criminals are using fake checkpoints, road spike traps, and armed hold-ups at rest stops to commit the crimes.
“It’s old-school crime,” said Troy Ryley, Mexico president of Echo Global Logistics in Chicago. “In the US, we’re seeing a lot more cargo theft through fraud. That’s becoming the trend and the more sophisticated way of stealing cargo. In Mexico, there’s guns involved and hijackings.”
Mexico and the United States exchange over $800 billion worth of goods each year.
The truck was on its way to the Pacific port of Manzanillo when it was stopped and ambushed by highway thieves using two white vehicles, according to a statement from the company, according to Mexico News Daily.
The attackers reportedly assaulted the driver and security guards, then held them hostage for 90 minutes. The truck was later recovered, while the trailer containing the precious metals was missing.
Grupo Minero Bacis has not yet finalized the exact financial damage, but confirmed that the loss is worth millions of dollars. The incident is part of a massive increase in cargo theft across Mexico, according to Bloomberg.
Robbery attempts rose more than 33 percent in the first two months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to Hector Romero, president of Circulo Logistico.
Overall, cargo thefts in Mexico totaled more than 24,000 cases in 2024, a 16 percent increase year-over-year, based on data from risk consultancy Overhaul. Mexico trails the United States and Europe in the total number of thefts, though leads the world in cargo loss relative to economic activity.
“Transporting cargo in Latin America’s second-largest economy has become a very significant problem that has fundamentally broken our supply chains," said Romero. The theft problem is especially a problem in Mexico when compared to regional peers. Brazil, for example, cargo theft incidents have not increased at the same rate as Mexico.
The methods used in these heists are increasingly aggressive, says Bloomberg. Criminals are using fake checkpoints, road spike traps, and armed hold-ups at rest stops to commit the crimes.
“It’s old-school crime,” said Troy Ryley, Mexico president of Echo Global Logistics in Chicago. “In the US, we’re seeing a lot more cargo theft through fraud. That’s becoming the trend and the more sophisticated way of stealing cargo. In Mexico, there’s guns involved and hijackings.”
Mexico and the United States exchange over $800 billion worth of goods each year.
