The National Customs Directorate of Paraguay announced that it will manage the financial resources for the purchase of technological inputs with the aim of promoting more efficient control of containers.
To this end, President Mario Abdo Benítez authorized the management of the mechanisms necessary for the purchase of ten scanners in order to achieve almost total coverage of the borders and thus combat drug trafficking.
"We know that the priority at this time is the health issue, but we are looking at the option of acquiring them through a loan, recovering costs for the review of each container to have a certain security in the controls," explained the head of Customs, Julio Fernández, after the meeting he held with the Head of State at the Government Palace.
In this regard, Fernández reported that Paraguay manages around 100.000 containers a year, so he considered that having this type of tool is key to having greater control over the merchandise.
"We have the President's authorization to move and see. We urgently need to buy 10 high-capacity scanners like the one we recently had," he said.
The head of Customs also said that some 30 million dollars will be allocated for this purchase, which implies a cost of between 10 and 15 dollars per container; the goal is to recover this investment and undertake the required maintenance.
He also praised the president's support and announced that he would discuss the project with members of Congress.
He also confirmed that It is urgent to have these teams, since drug trafficking continues to operate in the midst of a pandemic, which is why he expressed his concern about this fact.
"We need to buy simultaneously because if we do not cover certain sectors, drug trafficking can operate there," he said.
He explained that seven of the teams will be assigned to river ports where 94 percent of containers are concentrated, and the remaining three will be used to cover borders.
"With those 10 we would be relatively well off and then we should buy at least one per year," he said.
Remember that Paraguay Customs It has recently joined the Global Container Control Programme carried out by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Customs Organization, which includes 100 countries and 5 international organizations, coordinating tasks and exchanging information in the fight against illicit trade.
With information from the Paraguayan Information Agency
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