According to Chihuahua state authorities, five men along with one mother allegedly stole $350,000 worth of copper from a Juárez assembly plant.  It is believed that the group was aided by the plant’s security guard, the alleged mastermind of the crime which took place on April 3rd at Bell Electronics.

The robbery was led by two gunmen, Edgar Armando Rodríguez, 24 and Carlos Israel López Rodríguez, also 24, entered the plant’s gatehouse and tied down two security guards.  According to the Chihuahua General Attorney’s office in Juárez, the two men then took two tons of copper from the plant and fled with three others along with a driver in a tractor-trailer.  Each man was allegedly paid $3,952 for their role in the robbery.

Martha Isabel Rodríguez, the mother of Edgar Armando Rodríguez, was also arrested after it became apparent that she aided the men by telling them where to enter and how to subdue the guards.  She herself worked as a security guard at the plant. 

Francisco Machain Martínez, 51, Carlos Israel Rodríguez, 23, and Francisco Martínez Tarango, 50 were also arrested in connection with the robbery.  The copper still has not been recovered.