Personnel from Region II of the National Directorate of the Highway Police detained a man who was driving a truck loaded with multiple products without legal accreditation that he entered the country in accordance with the regulatory customs procedures.
The arrest occurred while the agents were carrying out a check on the interbalnearia route, at kilometer 86. At one point, a Chevrolet Montana model van disobeyed a stop order given by the authorities, fleeing.
The agents began a pursuit for several kilometers. At the intersection of Routes 8 and 9, the truck lost its way and its front axle broke. The police arrested the only occupant of the vehicle, who was unharmed in the accident.
When inspecting the van, Caminera agents found a box with merchandise from smuggling from Brazil. Because of this they arrested Pablo Roda, 47 years old and with a criminal record.
More than two years in prison
At the time, the agents seized 40 two-liter soda bottles, 12 almost one-liter bottles of rum, 360 355-ml beer bottles, 120 473-milliliter beer cans; 59 boxes of chocolates of 250 g each, 20 packets of salt of one kilo; 20 packages of paprika of half a kilo, two boxes with 40 kilos of avocado and a box of mango of 20 kilos.
Roda was detained and was subsequently transferred to the 4th Court of Maldonado. After completing the judicial instance, the man was sentenced for a continued crime of aggravated smuggling; for this crime he must serve a sentence of two years and two months in prison.
On the other hand, the National Customs Directorate confiscated the vehicle and the merchandise, whose value amounts to 283,477 pesos.