Sinaloa highway robberies

This item appears on page 19 of the April 2010 issue.

The US Consulate in Hermosillo, Mexico, issued an alert about robberies at night on toll roads and free roads around Sinaloa, cautioning people to drive only in daytime.

Robbers used cars with flashing lights to impersonate police, motioning drivers to pull over or down a side road where another car was waiting. They held victims at gunpoint and took valuables, usually leaving the car behind. In one case a passenger was raped and in another the driver was hit on the head.