Chilean Customs officials discovered on Tuesday (17.01.2023/XNUMX/XNUMX) a shipment of high-purity cocaine hydrochloride that was hidden in a truck loaded with zinc concentrate, which was in transit from the Bolivian town of Potosí to South Korea.
The discovery of the packages, valued at more than $3 billion (USD 322 million), took place in the Ollagüe complex (Antofagasta Region), according to the Chilean Customs statement.
The finding was highlighted thanks to documentary analysis and risk profiling. In the words of the Regional Director of Antofagasta Customs, Francisco Romero Papasideris: “Our inspectors carried out a special inspection and found seven black bags among the concentrate, which contained 160 rectangular packages containing a total of 166 kilos 144 grams of cocaine hydrochloride.”
Romero added to his explanation that once it was confirmed that the contents of the packages were drugs, the situation was reported to the Public Prosecutor's Office and the drugs, along with the accused and the evidence, were made available to the PDI.
In addition, the customs officer indicated that during the review, attention was drawn to the figure of a dolphin in low relief on drug packages. In this regard, he said that Drug traffickers use different symbols or signs to identify the place of production of the narcotic, and this action is often even understood as a kind of brand or certificate.
The arrest was carried out at the Calama Court of Guarantee, where prosecutor Cristian Aliaga Ayarza recounted the events and charged the Bolivian driver MML with the crime of drug trafficking as the perpetrator. Judge Sergio Vargas Palma considered that the arrest was in accordance with the law and ordered the precautionary measure of preventive detention for the 120 days set as the deadline for closing the investigation.
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