Inspectors from the Chilean National Customs Service detected and seized 274 kilos 560 grams of marijuana on an international bus that was trying to enter the country through the Colchane border complex (Iquique). The drugs were hidden inside tubes that looked like they were made of cloth and were concealed in a compartment used for flushing the toilet.
The Regional Director of the Iquique Customs, Cristian Molina Silva, said that Detection was achieved through the application of combined techniques involving risk analysis, non-invasive technology and a detector dog.. "Our inspectors analyzed a series of parameters and carried out a special inspection of the bus, establishing that the area used to store the toilet discharge had a closed access. Due to this, the control panel was intervened and the cabin was opened, finding a group of tubes that simulated fabrics.".
The procedure, carried out at 3.690 meters above sea level, continued with the review of 17 tubes with dogs and an X-ray machine, “determining that it was only a facade and inside it contained a total of 274 kilos 560 grams of marijuana“, Molina Silva added.
The drug, whose value exceeds 1.372 million pesos (more than US$2 million) in illicit trade, was loaded in the Bolivian city of La Paz and after passing through Oruro its destination was Iquique. Each cylinder was 16,6 centimeters in diameter and 120 centimeters long, which were vacuum sealed.
The drivers, along with the drugs and evidence, were handed over to the police via chain of custody.
The arrest was carried out at the Court of First Instance and Guarantee of Pozo Almonte. The prosecutor Javier Gutiérrez charged the two drivers with drug trafficking and the magistrate Rodrigo Villar decided to leave them in preventive detention for the 120 days that the investigation lasts.
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