The National Customs Service inspectors intercepted a Gentour bus in Quillagua after carrying out meticulous design and engineering work to hide drugs. Inside, they found 158 packages containing a total of 151 kilos and 800 grams of various drugs. The discovery was made possible by the use of one of the scanner trucks that operate in the region and the expertise of the inspection team.
El Regional Director of the Iquique Customs, Cristian Molina Silva, noted that based on risk analysis, the outposts are reinforced with specialized equipment and non-invasive technology.In this context, and thanks to institutional and government investments, today we have operators and scanner trucks at the main control points, which allows us to secure the logistics chain.".
Concealment technique
Molina added that the intercepted bus was traveling from Iquique to Santiago and its lower structure was thoroughly modified to conceal contraband.Thanks to the selectivity and power of the X-rays, it was possible to find the 158 packages with drugs, of which four contained 4 kilos 600 grams of ketamine and another fifty packages contained 53 kilos 800 grams of cocaine hydrochloride. In addition, 104 packages were found with 93 kilos 400 grams of cocaine paste.", said the Customs director.
Once the presence of illegal substances was confirmed, the driver fled the scene, leaving only the assistant behind. The bus, a 2008 Mercedes, was seized under Law 20.000 and the passengers had to find another means of transport.
The drugs and evidence were handed over to the Carabineros' OS-7.
The arrest of the assistant was carried out at the Pozo Almonte Court, where prosecutor Hardy Torres charged him with the crime of drug trafficking in the completed degree. The court declared the arrest legal and ordered preventive detention as a precautionary measure for the 120 days established for the investigation.
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