Armed highway thieves steal 40 tonnes of avocados in Mexico

Highway bandits in Mexico have made off with more than 40 tonnes of avocados, officials said.

The attorney general's office said the avocados were stolen in two separate robberies in the western state of Michoacan - Mexico's main producer of the fruit.

In both cases, armed men stopped freight trucks carrying about 20 tonnes each, and stole the shipments.

Avocados are usually shipped in crates, which would make transferring the load easier and quicker.

Growers have long been targeted by drug cartel extortion demands in Michoacan, and thefts of fruit on the trees in avocado orchards are not unknown - but hijackings of entire shipments are said to be rare.