One of the smugglers is on the run, a truck was buried for driving on a secondary road and thus evading controls, a ticket did not coincide, and the free shops they did not even sell the merchandise that they sent to import from China. They are the movements of an organization that was dismantled, which was seized contraband valued at $6 millionand now a part will go to auction.
Among the seized 116,122 bikinis, 26,021 women’s plain short-sleeved blouses and 5,132 sets of long-sleeved blouses, among others. Thousands of underwear units will be auctioned off by court order. The National Association of Auctioneers, Appraisers and Real Estate Brokers is waiting for the notification to later define how, where and when the auction will take place.
The merchandise was seized from a criminal gang that operated in Cerro Largo: The owner of two free shops (one in Aceguá and the other in Río Branco) is a fugitive and is in Brazil. He has dual nationality.
The modus operandi was as follows: he imported merchandise from abroad (mainly China) that he declared as being in transit through Uruguay from one free shop to another, but in reality he moved it in trucks overnight to Pelotas.
Five people were charged by the Justice: three Brazilian truckers, in addition to the manager of one of the free shops and an administrative, who they forged ballots and were complicit in the operation. They were accused of co-authorship.
The merchandise was entered and stored in warehouses of the free shopsbut that it was a screensources in the case said. The objects were never disbursed, and in fact the premises did not sell underwear or pens, which was what was seized. He was sent for sale in businesses in Pelotas.
The Observer reported on August 29 that although they were closed, they continued to sell.
In addition to bikinis, women’s short-sleeved plain blouses and long-sleeved blouse sets, there are:
- 4,674 women’s bras
- 2,400 women’s sports socks
- 2,400 women’s tights
- 2,394 sets-muscular plus women’s pants
- 2,076 women’s sports tops
- 1,938 women’s belts
- 1,800 female cancans
- 1,728 women’s sports outfits plain t-shirt plus pants
- 1,672 short sets and short-sleeved blouse
- 1,584 sets of underwear
- 1,380 sets of women’s pajamas
- 921 female corset
- 864 female babydolls
- 600 female two-piece babydoll sets
- 456 women’s plain short-sleeved t-shirts
- 320 muscular female prili
- 188 female slippers
Two trucks and a second auction
The organization had a truck stopped; The prosecution found that it was one of the many trips with the profit of another similar procedure of money laundering and smuggling, previously. It was on August 18, 2022 around 10:00 p.m. when the police seized a truck with merchandise.
The vehicle –registered in Cerro Largo– was traveling alongside a “pointer” on a secondary road to the main one, almost reaching Brazilian territory. The cargo was valued at $8 million.
The driver of the truck and the driver of the “pointer” car were Brazilian. “Always in these cases they send one or two pointers to see the police movement and others on the route,” he then explained to The Observer the head of the departmental headquarters, Marcelo Suárez.
“They wore watches and some 46,000 brand name glasses,” Suarez said. “They couldn’t say where the merchandise came from or where it was going, so they were taken prisoner and the Justice was informed.” Sources of the case added that they had a ticket indicating that the cargo was clothing, but that was fake.
As a result of this procedure, the Justice ordered raids in three commercial premises in Aceguá and Río Branco. It was found the same merchandise, in addition to Chinese pens. It was then evaluated as merchandise in customs violation.
Wallets, glasses and watches were counterfeit. Investigative sources told The Observer that for counterfeits there are complaints of various brandswhose representatives in Uruguay went before the Justice.
“Everything seized amounts to approximately US$6 million,” Suárez transmitted then, based on the Customs survey.
A little over a year ago, a truck was found abandoned because it was buried while driving on a road that evaded a police border control. Although it has not been linked, he carried the same pens as those seized in the free shops. Investigations continue.
The pens, glasses, belts and other contraband merchandise will be auctioned off by Customs in a second public auction.
