During the summer vacation period, members of the National Guard seized two cloned vehicles pretending to be official patrol cars from the federal government. These vehicles were allegedly used by organized crime groups to commit extortion and assaults against travelers and truck drivers on highways in Nuevo León.
The operation was carried out by members of the National Guard from the Nuevo León State Coordination, along with military personnel and Civil Force personnel, who were conducting investigations and patrols in the area.
According to authorities, the vehicles bore almost exact characteristics of official National Guard units, allowing the criminals to deceive their victims and operate with impunity on strategic highways.
The discovery was made on the Matehuala-Saltillo highway, near the municipality of Galeana in southern Nuevo León, where the alleged perpetrators abandoned the vehicles upon noticing the presence of security forces.
“The communications personnel of the state coordination of the National Guard proceeded with the seizure,” the agency reported in a statement.
What do we know about the “pirated” vehicles used by drug traffickers?
These types of vehicles, known as “clones,” are an increasingly common practice among organized crime groups.
An example of this is the case reported last January when civilians were victims of extortion by supposed police officers, who were later revealed to be pirated police officers.
In the case of the recent seizure, the fake vehicles were handed over to the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office based in the municipality of Linares, where an investigation will begin to find those responsible for their manufacture and use.
Authorities did not specify whether the vehicles had functional equipment such as turrets, sirens, or radios, but emphasized that they maintained a very similar exterior appearance to official vehicles, which could have facilitated their use in the commission of serious crimes.
Source: elfinanciero
