More than $610 million worth of drugs were seized by the Chilean National Customs Service in 10 procedures recorded in Loa and Quillagua (north) during the last 72 hours. Among the Concealment methods include the use of vehicles, shoes, suitcases and even inside the body.
The Regional Director of the Iquique Customs, Dennys Beltrand Santos, explained that during the control work to prevent all types of smuggling, "the advances were reinforced due to the increase in the flow of passengers due to the weekend and the holiday. In this context, there were 10 procedures with 17 defendants and the seizure of 26 kilos 779 grams of cocaine hydrochloride and 5 kilos 573 grams of marijuana".
Among the various cases, the discovery of 45 packages with 16 kilos 440 grams of cocaine and 8 packages with 4 kilos 465 grams of marijuana in Quillagua stands out. These were hidden in the tank of a truck. “Thanks to risk profiles and non-invasive technology, The scanner truck analyzed a van and hidden packages were detected. A Chilean and a Bolivian were travelling in the vehicle and were brought to justice," Beltrand added.
The Chilean ARMB (37) and the Bolivian CRS (22) were charged by the prosecutor of Pozo Almonte, Hardy Torres, and were placed in preventive detention for the 120 days that the investigation lasts.
Meanwhile, in El Loa and on interprovincial buses bound for Santiago, the two Bolivians were detected with 91 and 101 cocaine ovoids, respectively, hidden among their clothes and suitcasesThey were traveling accompanied by the Cochabamba merchant MMV (28), who was carrying 25 ovoids in his stomach.
On another bus going to Antofagasta, the customs officers selected the bricklayer, the hairdresser and the saleswoman for an interview, who were transporting a total of 208 capsules of cocaine.inside their stomachs.
In turn, during inspections in Quillagua and on a bus traveling from Oruro to Antofagasta, the students were detected with a total of 90 ovoids among their clothes and suitcases.
In the same way and on another bus that was traveling to Calama, two tourists were detected, along with the merchant with drugs hidden in the form of insoles in their shoesIn addition to the six packages in their shoes with a total weight of 6 kilo 1 grams of cocaine, the three travelers also carried a total of 335 ovoids in their stomachs.
Finally, at the El Loa outpost they surprised two men and a woman in a Chilean car with 1 kilo 108 grams of marijuana, while in El Loa they intercepted a Peruvian cook with a suitcase where she was hiding 168 ovoids with 1 kilo 885 grams of cocaine hydrochloride.
All those involved, along with the drugs and evidence, were handed over to the police for safekeeping and transfer. The arrests were carried out in the Guarantee Courts of Iquique and Pozo Almonte, and all were remanded in custody.
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