The National Customs Service of Chile shared its work experience to control drug smuggling through international trade airway during the global workshop organized by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB, International Narcotics Control Board).
The activity focused on the mail and courier industry (express mail) was held in Vienna (Austria). The event was attended by the Deputy Director of Customs Enforcement, José Luis Castro, and the head of the National Department of Drugs and Related Crimes, Claudio Rey, together with more than 100 experts representing countries around the world.
In this regard, José Luis Castro spoke at the panel "Techniques and Processes”, where he shared Chile’s experience in the analysis processes and techniques used to control transnational trafficking of synthetic drugs. The presentation focused on cases that occurred in the courier and postal areas at Santiago International Airport, with emphasis on the discovery of new narcotics and the technologies used for their identification.
Customs positioning
The Customs authority highlighted that participating in this global workshop "lies fundamentally in the positioning and recognition that Customs has achieved before the INCB in the exchange of successful procedures of synthetic opioids carried out by the Service, as well as the exchange of information and modes of operation (format, concealment, route), alert reports and the identification of new substances, allowing the development of successful investigative processes by other member countries.”
The official highlighted that, between 2021 and 2023, 22 New Psychoactive Substances (NSP) have been detected in Chile, of which 16 were seized by the National Customs Service. He also highlighted the use of available technologies for the identification of these illicit substances, such as Raman technology (Trunarc, Geminis and Tacti ID equipment), but especially the MX908 Devicebecause it is the first Customs office in South America to acquire this portable mass spectrometer.
About the workshop
The workshop, held in Vienna, is the first to be organised by the INCB's Global Rapid Interdiction of Dangerous Substances (GRIDS) programme. target The aim was to generate a global diagnosis of the phenomenon of trafficking in synthetic opioids and New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) by air, because this is where 89% of the trafficking of this type of illegal substances is concentrated.
In addition to Customs, police officers and representatives of courier, postal and freight forwarding companies from countries such as Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Qatar, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, among others.
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
