Mexico: Armed men rob 20 containers with gold and silver

A group of at least 12 armed men stole 20 containers in the Mexican port of Manzanillo, which contained a mixture of minerals, including gold, silver, and zinc, as well as televisions of different sizes, Mexican media reported on Sunday.

The armed group is thought to have entered one of the yards in the industrial zone of Jalipa on June 5. There, they subdued the security personnel and some of the workers and then tied and gagged them.

Subsequently, the armed men used special equipment to cut the locks and security devices of several containers, the contents of which were stolen with the help of cranes. They loaded the contents into tractor-trailers and fled the scene, reported Infobae.

Mexican authorities believe this operation was thoroughly planned, as the thieves only selected containers with high-value merchandise.

"This illicit activity, which causes millions of dollars in losses each year, has become the incentive for many Mexican businessmen. So Grupo Control Manzanillo analyzed the problem, offering to intervene in the fight against this activity within the perimeter of action of the commercial port of Colima," reads a statement issued by the administration of the port of Manzanillo.

Container theft in Manzanillo is common. Because of this, the port emphasized that the group, formed by the Sixth Naval Region of the Secretariat of the Navy, was committed to "emphasize the solution of the serious problem that this situation represents."

The security agreement was put into effect on March 8, 2021. However, this recent robbery is one of the largest heists in the history of the port of Manzanillo, according to Mexican media. 

Container theft has been linked to various organized crime groups in the state of Colima, a territory currently in dispute between the Jalisco Cartel - New Generation (CJNG) and the New Colima Cartel, a criminal association also known as Los Mezcales, added Infobae.