Smuggling Scheme Lets 40,000 Cars Enter Mexico Yearly, MCCI Says

A cross-border smuggling operation involving cloned license plates and reused temporary permits has allowed roughly 40,000 vehicles to enter Mexico illegally each year through customs points in Reynosa and Matamoros, according to an investigation by Mexicans Against Corruption and Impunity (MCCI). Customs data indicate the scheme has been active for years, relying on falsified Texas plates and duplicate import permits to repeatedly move vehicles across the US–Mexico border.

The investigation began after customs surveillance detected two vehicles—a Ford Fusion and a BMW 535i—crossing different checkpoints within minutes, both displaying the same Texas plate number, HDY9677. Further checks revealed other vehicles, including a Volkswagen GTI, Chevrolet Equinox, and several Jettas, had crossed using the same plate. “The drivers are presumed to have used superimposed plates to bring the vehicles into the country illegally,” stated the National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM) in an internal alert, warning that such cars could also transport illicit goods.

ANAM records showed that temporary import permits were also being cloned. Permit 91635R5 recorded 728 separate crossings in four months, while permits 70601N3 and 96447X5 logged 220 and 253 crossings, respectively. Between September 2020 and April 2021, customs data centers identified 3,896 duplicate plates used to bring in 27,239 illegal vehicles. “In practice, a single permit was reused hundreds of times,” noted an internal customs report.

The government’s vehicle regularization decree, first issued in October 2021 and extended through September 2026, effectively legalized many of these vehicles. Guillermo Rosales, executive president, Mexican Association of Automotive Distributors (AMDA), said, “The mass legalization of illegally imported vehicles benefits criminal groups and undermines the formal economy.” He estimated that about 2.2 million vehicles have been regularized under the decree, generating an estimated US$2.2 billion in profits for smuggling networks. “Every day, contraband vehicles continue to cross freely through border bridges, fueling corruption,” Rosales added.

ANAM monitoring reports also highlighted corruption within customs operations. During eight months of surveillance, 27,000 suspect vehicles triggered only 787 red-light alerts, with just two resulting in seizures. “There is apparent evidence of involvement by a customs officer facilitating these crossings,” an internal report stated. Mexican authorities have shared findings with U.S. agencies, leading to arrests of counterfeiters in Laredo, Texas, and indications of accomplices in Brownsville.