Grupo Bimbo has become a target of criminal groups dedicated to road transport theft, according to email leaks from the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena), made by the Guacamaya hacker group a couple of weeks ago. The information contained in the agency’s emails reveals that criminal groups would be involved in the robberies of the bakery that went from fuel theft in the region to cargo transport theft, and that they use the disused Pemex pipelines to store the merchandise. stolen.
Reports indicate that the Mexico-Puebla-Córdoba section of federal highway 150D, which connects Mexico City with Veracruz, has become a red flag for the bakery. Between January and September 2021, the company reported the theft of 48 units on that section, while in the same period this year there were another 18 trucks.
“From the events recorded in Grupo Bimbo, it can be seen that the State of Mexico and Puebla concentrate the largest number of assaults against cargo trucks,” reads the documents that were leaked by the group of hackers.
Wednesdays are the days with the highest number of incidents, while early morning (1:00 am) is the riskiest time of day for moving your merchandise.
The products are unloaded from the stolen vehicles and hidden in the unused spaces of the pipelines that belong to the state company. And, according to the report sent to Sedena, when the security forces withdraw from the area, the merchandise is married and transferred to other areas for sale. Meanwhile, trucks without cargo are dismantled.
The leaked information places the Minatitlán-Mexico gas pipeline, which crosses the area known as ‘El Triángulo Rojo’, in Puebla, as the main place of protection for stolen merchandise.
The Supply Chain Intelligence Center estimated that of all cargo transport thefts in Mexico, 32% corresponds to food and beverage thefts, items that “are difficult to track and easy to distribute.”
The agency considers that the country has a “severe” level of risk, as a result of the total number of robberies, which in 2021 amounted to 19,876. In 96% of the incidents there was use of violence. The situation has not improved in 2022.
Bimbo does not specify in the documents that the monetary losses were leaked, nor has it had to increase spending on security, but the National Chamber of Freight Transport (Canacar) calculates that insecurity on roads generates an extra cost of 15% in expenses. company operations.
These cost overruns are added to the inflationary phenomenon that has reached its highest levels in two decades. From January 2019 to last September, the price of bread had an increase of 41.57%, according to the Inegi.
Grupo Bimbo had a last price update on July 18, which did not include white bread, which is included in the Package against Inflation and Scarcity (PACIC), but it did cover most sweet and other varieties of brown bread. box with an added value.
Expansión consulted Bimbo about the theft of units, but the company declined to comment on the matter.
Company executives have warned in the past about insecurity on the roads. Juan Botiz, director of vehicles at Grupo Bimbo, said in July, during the 22nd National Freight Transport Forum, that unit theft “is a problem for the cargo transport industry.”
With information from Tzuara de Luna.
