“I braked and had the thief hanging from the window”: reports of increasing thefts in the ports of Greater Rosario

During harvest season, especially for soybeans, corn, and wheat [this cereal is currently being harvested in the country], thousands of trucks enter the grain ports of Gran Rosario, generating more traffic and congestion on roads and at terminals. However, there is also an increase in insecurity on the roads and access routes to the terminals, where the season's produce is unloaded, with grain being stolen by opening the hoppers. "These incidents occur both while the trucks are moving and when they are forced to stop due to traffic or poor road conditions. According to transporters, the final leg of the journey has become a death trap: the port area, which stretches from San Martín, Timbúes, and Rosario, has seen a dramatic increase in violence over the last three years. Playa Pérez, in Rosario, is one of the places most feared by drivers, who do not want to go near it, they said. Matías Ullua, who has been transporting goods to the port for eight years, recalled that this is a collective complaint from colleagues who travel the roads and are rarely able to report incidents. "Insecurity is very high. Many trucks enter the port, there is little police security, very dark areas, and a lack of lighting,“ he summarized. ”The modus operandi of the gangs that operate on the ring road and access roads is brutal and fast-paced, according to the transporter. They take advantage of the reduced speed of large vehicles—due to the condition of the roads and traffic lights—to attack. Ullua experienced this firsthand last September when he was entering Puerto San Martín. "I stopped at a railroad crossing and they broke the passenger window with a rock. When I reacted, the thief was hanging from the window with a gun pointed at my head. They stole my cell phone, my wallet, and an envelope with money that was for gas during the trip. It was a matter of seconds, although at the time it felt like an eternity. I didn't know if the assailant was inexperienced or if he might miss his shot,“ he said. ”Beyond armed robbery in truck cabs, the most common crime is the opening of discharge nozzles to steal grain, often while the truck is in motion. On the Rosario ring road, in the direction of Buenos Aires, every day there are one or two trucks that have their nozzles opened," he said. To prevent this, drivers have had to change the way they drive: “We no longer drive in the slow lane, but in the middle lane, to prevent criminals from climbing up from the shoulder.” In addition, they have had to reinforce the security of their vehicles themselves to prevent further thefts. "All the fuel nozzles have little ears with holes in them, and we put screws in them. Anything with a lever that can be used to open a door, I have it bolted shut,“ he explained. ”A few days ago, he saw it firsthand while traveling in a convoy with Carlos Raccini, one of his colleagues with whom he often travels the route: "They opened the door when they arrived at the port. I was flashing my lights at him, and he saw in the mirror that he was losing merchandise. He got out and closed the door." Ullua maneuvered his truck to cover his colleague's rear and prevent those on motorcycles from attacking them again while they were stopped. The truck driver explained that cereal theft poses a perverse dilemma for drivers: if they stop to close the door, they are exposed to assault; if they continue, they lose their cargo. The insurance covers drivers if they are threatened with a weapon, but not if it is a simple opening of the tailgate. “The drivers point out that the disastrous state of the access roads forces them to stop. Sometimes you have to brake to a standstill to avoid a pothole because another vehicle is coming towards you,” he added. According to Ullua, there is little police presence on the route between Puerto San Martín and Rosario. Rosalía Rodríguez described the industrial belt as a map of red zones stretching from Timbúes to Arroyo Seco, passing through Rosario. Although she is based in Ricardone, she pointed out that the real danger is concentrated in the access roads to the southern ports, such as Unidad 6 and Playa Pérez. There, the infrastructure works against them: vacant lots at the entrances and the need to pass through avenues surrounded by settlements, such as Ayolas and Uriburu, make trucks easy targets. "The mechanics of robberies on the Rosario Beltway have evolved into technical and rapid violence. According to the driver, motorcycles stick to the sides of trucks when they have to slow down; criminals “throw chains at the discharge nozzles and use the traction of the truck's own wheels to rip them out.” Added to this are constant stone throwings at the windshields, a brutal tactic that seeks to force the driver to brake so that they can board the cab. Given this scenario, the golden rule among truck drivers is “do not stop under any circumstances” until entering the port. Rosalía explained that they must take extreme measures, such as “screwing down all the hatches and driving in the fast lanes to prevent motorcycles from boarding.” The situation is so critical that if they see a colleague losing grain because the spout was opened while the vehicle was moving, they cannot stop to help him on the road due to the risk of being robbed; assistance is only possible once they manage to cross the port terminal gates. To avoid being robbed, transporters travel in groups, looking out for each other: “The only way to deter criminals who cross the road to stop the vehicle has been thanks to the intervention of other colleagues who, through maneuvers or warning signals, manage to prevent the robbery at the last second.”