A Bolivian truck with 150 thousand packets of contraband cigarettes was detected at the Chungará border complex, located in the Chilean region of Arica. The vehicle was traveling in transit to Colombia with a load of sugar and Thanks to the collaborative work between the Customs of Chile and Bolivia, the container was opened.
El Regional Director of the Arica Customs, Fernando Rousseau Amigo, said that based on profiles from the Arica Risk Analysis Unit, a truck traveling from Santa Cruz to Colombia with 360 sacks of sugar was selected for a special review.Our inspectors identified an inconsistency and coordinated with their Bolivian counterparts to open the container that was in transit to Colombia. This proved that the container had been opened irregularly and its legal cargo had been contaminated with undeclared merchandise and special taxation."
Rousseau added that after verifying the existence of the contraband, the Public Prosecutor's Office was informed, who instructed the OS-9 of Carabineros to escort the truck to Arica and begin the necessary investigations.
The cigarette boxes were on top of the sugar sacks and in total 300 bales or boxes were seized, which in total contained 150 thousand packs of the Esse, Pine, Random Five, Carnival Blu and Fox brands. It is estimated that the truck would have made a transfer and that the cigarettes were destined for the black market in the Metropolitan Region. If they had been sold, the tax evasion would be greater than 263 million pesos.
La Head of OS9 in Arica, Captain Elizabeth IbacacheHe highlighted the Inter-institutional work between Carabineros of OS9 Arica and the National Customs Service which has been the key to the success of the operations carried out, "which are part of an analysis and information gathering work associated with this criminal phenomenon. Proof of this is that in the Chungará sector alone, 3 people have been arrested, 3 trucks of foreign origin have been intercepted, and a total of 57.500 cartons of cigarettes whose sale is prohibited in our country have been seized, which are entering the national territory hidden."
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