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I've spoken before, here in CAR CHAT, about SUV-theft-rings that steal off-road-capable SUVs here in the U.S. and send them across the border to Mexico (and further into Central/South America), where the primitive roads often require the use of rugged vehicles. Most of you probably already know what SUV approach/breakover/departure angles are, so I don't have to explain that here. But here is a perfect example of why, if you're going to steal SUVs, you have to have at least some idea of what you are doing.
Oh I'm sure they got their drugs out of the Jeep and headed back to Mexico. Hopefully their superiors in the cartel didn't beat them too badly.
It isn't just drugs that they smuggle....that's the point. Some of those theft-rings take the whole SUV itself and ship it down to Mexico or Central America, where the awful road conditions, especially in rural areas, create a black-market demand for off-road-capable SUVs. Of course, as you suggest, if they can fill those stolen SUVs with drugs and also sell them for a big profit (whether here or in Latin America), they will probably do so.