Mexico Criminals Rob Truck Full of Gold, Silver Concentrate

Armed thieves robbed a truck carrying 33 tons of gold and silver concentrate belonging to Grupo Minero Bacis, costing the company millions of dollars in losses.

Assailants blocked the semi-truck with two white-colored vehicles, assaulted the driver and the accompanying security guards, and held them hostage for an hour and a half, according to a company statement. The truck, which was bound for the Pacific port of Manzanillo, was recovered, but the attached trailer containing the gold and silver concentrate was not, the company said.

While the exact financial impact hasn’t been calculated, Grupo Minero Bacis said the losses are in the millions of dollars.

The incident comes as highway robberies in Mexico become more frequent, with a robbery attempt taking place about every 50 minutes on Mexico’s highways. Robberies jumped by more than a third in the first two months of 2025 from the previous year, in which a total 24,000 cargo thefts were registered.

Gold and silver concentrates are semi-processed materials containing higher concentrations of the precious metals than the original ore.

Photograph: Gold granules poured into a container to be further converted into a bullion at a gold and silver refinery operated by MMTC-PAMP India Pvt. Ltd., in Nuh, India, on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022. Photo credit: Anindito Mukherjee/Bloomberg

Related:

• Highway Robberies Are Now Just Part of Doing Business in Mexico

Topics Auto Fraud Mexico