Additional Info:
White 2002 Kenworth Tractor Trailer
Mexico license plate number 980CZ6.
MEXICO CITY (AP) _ A truck carrying 10 tons of deadly sodium cyanide was stolen in central Mexico, and officials say they have no information about what the robbers were planning to do with the poisonous material _ or if they even knew it was on board.
Officials said it is unlikely that the three armed men who stole the truck Friday were plotting to use it in a terrorist attack here or in the United States. Truck robberies are common in Mexico, particularly in the region just north of the capital, Mexico City.
Most likely, the robbers just wanted the truck so they could sell its parts and have no interest in the dangerous chemicals, said Rogelio Alvarado, a spokesman for the police in Izmiquilpan, a town near where the robbery took place.
``It’s a typical robbery. In this case, we’re just worried that they’re going to dump the cargo, and, not realizing what it is, it’s going to contaminate the area where it’s left,’' Alvarado said.
Officials added, however, that they are not ruling out ties to terrorism because they have scant information about why the men stole the truck and where they were planning to take it.
Federal and state police have been patrolling the highways since Friday, looking for the vehicle, officials said. So far, they have not turned up any leads or received any reports of sightings of the truck.
Alvarado said that the three men, knowing that authorities were looking for them, probably hid the truck somewhere so it would not be spotted on the road.
Sodium cyanide is used in gold and silver mining. If inhaled or ingested, it attacks the nervous system and can cause a person to suffocate within minutes.
The truck had left from Queretaro, a colonial city 115 miles (190 kms) from Mexico City, and was headed to Pachuca, the capital of Hidalgo state, 33 miles (55 kms) northeast of the capital.