More than $527 million worth of marijuana and cocaine hydrochloride were seized at the El Loa and Quillagua outposts in northern Chile, according to the National Customs Service. The drugs were transported by 5 adults, 2 minors and also in the structure of 7 buses that were bound for Antofagasta and Santiago.
The Regional Director of the Iquique Customs Office, Cristian Molina Silva, indicated that the drug was detected thanks to risk profiling, the use of detector dogs and non-invasive technology. “Our inspectors are constantly analyzing risk factors in order to manage control processes in the most efficient way. Thus, during the last week, a total of 31 kilos 62 grams of marijuana and 18 kilos 619 grams of cocaine hydrochloride were seized in different procedures that considered the detection of unusual methods of concealment.".
The first case was recorded at the El Loa outpost when inspectors selected 3 passengers from a bus traveling from Iquique to Santiago. Upon inspection, it was determined that the tourist was carrying 9 packages with 2 kilos 766 grams of cocaine hidden in her jacket, while the former police officer was carrying 7 packages with 2 kilos 107 grams of cocaine in a belt and the merchant was carrying 10 packages whose total weight was 3 kilos 10 grams of cocaine. All three are from Peruvian nationality and they traveled from Lima to Iquique, from where they intended to continue to Santiago.
9 packages of cocaine. Photo: Chilean Customs
Later, on a bus also coming from Arica, inspectors found an abandoned white bag, which was sealed with a padlock and contained 13 packages with 13 kilos 857 grams of marijuana and 2 packages with 2 kilos 201 grams of cocaine.
13 packages of marijuana. Photo: Chilean Customs
A similar case was reported around midnight on another bus, when officials found Two shampoo bottles that contained 96 ovoids inside with 981,5 grams of cocaine hydrochloride.
Ovoid. Photo: Chilean Customs
At the same time and during the early morning, the officers interviewed two minors who were traveling alone on a bus. The teenagers reported that they had packages of marijuana attached to their bodies with belts and that they were given them by an adult who was on the bus.. After the above, a search was carried out and the customs officers surprised the Colombians with drug packages attached to their bodies. In total, they seized 9 rectangular packages with 7 kilos 30,5 grams of marijuana.
9 rectangular packages. Photo: Chilean Customs
All those involved and the drugs were handed over through a chain of custody to the OS-7 of Carabineros. In the case of the three Peruvian citizens, all were placed in preventive detention for the 120 days that the investigation lasts, while the adults of Colombian nationality were deprived of liberty and the minors were placed in provisional detention for 90 days.
Meanwhile, at the Quillagua outpost, 226 kilometers south of Iquique, packages with 4 kilos 200 grams of cocaine hydrochloride were detected in the structure of a bus. Later, in another interprovincial bus, two packages with 1 kilo 150 grams of cocaine were found, and another bus headed to Antofagasta, where one of the detection dogs alerted its guide about traces of drugs and 6 packages with 3 kilos 625 grams of marijuana were found hidden in a kind of double bottom. A similar situation occurred in another bus with 6 packages with 6 kilos 550 grams of marijuana and in an international bus with 2 packages with 2 kilos 204 grams of cocaine.
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