“Theft of the Century” and “The Unseen”: Thieves steal pots filled with gold and silver in Mexico

The operation, dubbed “the theft of the century” by some media, dates back to June 5. The incidents were said to have taken place in a private part of the Port of Manzanillo, the main Mexican trading port on the Pacific coast.

Official sources speak of an amazing modus operandi. The armed robbers would prevent the security services from interfering. Gustavo Adrian Goya, a spokesman for security issues in Colima state, where the port is located, said the gang then used cranes and trucks for eight to 10 hours to unload the containers.

“They were also very selective about the types of merchandise they steal,” Joya says. “Valuable items and other things, like air conditioning. It’s invisible. We’ve seen sporadic thefts of containers, but nothing that big.” It is not clear how much gold and silver were stolen.

The head of National Customs, Horacio Duarte Olivares, spoke of “a very large operation carried out by organized crime”. The Mexican government has opened an investigation.