The General Directorate of Customs (DGA), one of the three agencies that make up the Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP) in our country, seized a shipment of padded wooden puffs bound for Australia by courier. Within these pieces of furniture there were a total of 3,720 boxes of cigarettes.
The authors of the disjointed millionaire smuggling tried to beat these products, approximately, 500% more than what could be achieved in Argentina, since a bundle of 20 cigarettes It can cost 540 pesos (less than US$3) in our country, while in the oceanic territory, the price rises to US$28.59, which concludes that on the black market they would be able to get approximately US$15 for 20 units of this product.
In addition, Australia progressively applies increasingly harsh restrictions on cigarettes, on a path towards detoxification especially of the youngest. One of the closest countries on its continent directly carries out a bill where those born after 2008 are prohibited from acquiring these products for life.
These restrictions are estimated to have pushed up the price of cigarettes up to 10 times more than what they are worth in Argentina, which is why the DGA places special emphasis on controlling the smuggling of this type of substance. According to the procedure by which they found the illegal shipment, it is known that the Customs inspectors noticed that 13 packages launched images that were not compatible with the furniture presented when passing through the scanner.
Subsequently, due to the alert, the destinations of the products in question changed to the Mandatory Red Selectivity Channel, where the integrity of the goods can be damaged due to suspicions of smuggling. The perpetrators of the smuggling attempt had declared a total value of US$550, however, for their action they could face a fine of up to 40,176,000 pesos.
Customs seized cocaine bound for Uruguay
On January 31, the DGA found and subsequently seized 87 kilograms of cocaine at the Concordia-Salto border crossing, which were transported in a cargo truck with Paraguayan registrations bound for the neighboring country, Uruguay. The vehicle declared a load of bulk corn, but upon going through the scanner, customs agents found inconsistencies in the reported product.
On the floor of the semi-trailer, inside a double bottom, there were 87 loaves of cocaine weighing 1 kilogram each. Due to this situation, Customs gave intervention to the Federal Court of Concordia, which ordered the arrest of the driver as well as the woman who accompanied him. According to DGA estimates, the seized narcotics have a value of US$1,305,000.
