Officials in Mexico have destroyed 50 cartel “monster” trucks – kitted out with homemade armour and machine gun turrets.
The vehicles were seized in Mexico’s Tamaulipas state – which borders the US southern state of Texas.
Some of the vehicles featured reinforced turrets for machine guns, as well as bulletproof panels, according to officials.
A video posted on the X social media platform by Mexico’s federal prosecutor’s office on Monday showed a crane flipping the trucks before they were crushed.
The post reads: “In compliance with the Destination of Assets and Objects of Crime Program, we destroyed 50 vehicles with artisanal armour called ‘monsters’, relating to 30 files, which were allegedly used by different criminal groups.”
The crushed trucks. Pic: @FGRMexico/X
“Monster” trucks, as they are known by officials in Mexico, are usually made from standard pickups or larger vehicles.
The trucks are then adapted with heavy armour and weapons.
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The trucks were first spotted in 2010 and have since become more sophisticated – leading to them being dubbed “Frankenstein trucks”.
In the past, they have been used in fierce gunfights between cartels, the police, and rival groups.