Thefts of farm tractors increasing on border

Border Patrol agents stumbled upon a budding theft trend last week when they intercepted a stolen tractor trying to make it across the border into Mexico, authorities said. The incident was the second case in less than a year of someone trying to drive a stolen tractor across the Rio Grande, along the farming outskirts east of El Paso, said Lt. Mario Flores of the Texas Department of Public Safety Motor Vehicle Theft Service. "I would call it a new trend as far as crossing it (tractors) over the river. Before, they would just load it onto trailers and then they would wait to cross it," Flores said. "We are trying to coordinate with Mexican authorities to close the net, if you will, on these items crossing into Mexico," Flores said. Flores said investigators have information that there have been more stolen tractor crossings than the reported cases. Investigators suspect the large equipment is also used to pull vehicles stuck in the Rio Grande when smugglers attempt to cross drug shipments. In another case, a stolen tractor was worth an estimated $140,000, Flores said. "Just the mere value of that equipment, if they can get a fraction of that amount, that is quite a large sum," he said....