By IANS/EFE,
Monterrey (Mexico): Eighteen tonnes of industrial explosives have been stolen from a trailer in northern Mexico, authorities said.
The robbery took place on the Monterrey-Saltillo highway Friday, the Nuevo Leon state public safety secretary, Carlos Jauregi, said at a press conference.
Mexican troops and federal police are searching for the stolen cargo and an alert has been declared throughout the Mexico-US border region, he said.
The attorney general of the neighbouring state of Coahuila, Jesus Torres, said the metal container in which the explosives were being transported was found empty at the 50-km mark on the road linking Saltillo, Coahuila’s capital, and Monterrey.
The vehicle carrying the explosives left Thursday from Durango state bound for the northeastern border state of Tamaulipas.
Thefts from cargo trucks on Mexico’s highways increased 40 percent last year, according to figures from the Canacar industry association.