August 29, 2024, 4:56 PM
August 29, 2024, 4:56 PM
Illicit trade is growing every day on the borders of Bolivia, Peru and Chile, and not only does it compete unfairly with the formal industries of these countries, but it is directly related to organized crime by sharing routes and Criminal practices with drug trafficking, gold trafficking, human traffickingand other illegal activities, which operate under a transnational scheme.
In order to analyze this serious problem and propose actions from the private sector, the National Society of Industries (SNI) together with the National Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism (CNC) of Chile and the National Chamber of Industry (CNI) of Bolivia, organized the international seminar called “Illicit Trade and Organized Crime: Regional Challenges”, which took place in Lima, Peru.
SNI President Felipe James said that, in addition to the economic implications, illicit trade represents a national security problem that affects the integrity of our countries, and announced the creation of the Council of South American unions and chambers to fight smuggling, as part of the agreement of the participating unions.
Illegal cigarette trade
The seminar on Thursday addressed two forms of illegal trade that most affect our countries: smuggling and illicit trafficking. And in this regard, the study “Value chain and security risks in cigarette smuggling and used clothing on the Puno-Lima axis”, which was presented by Rubén Vargas, expert consultant of the SNI Commission for the Fight against Illicit Trade.
This work reveals a worrying reality: the smuggling of illegal cigarettes and used clothing in Peru is only the tip of the iceberg of a complex network of violence and corruption, managed by national and transnational criminal organizations.
The report states that a criminal and security policy component is essential to complement administrative oversight of smuggling and to increase the penalties for this trafficking of illegal products and treat them as organized crime.
In this regard, the president of the Commission to Combat Illicit Trade of the SNI, Claudia Linares, stressed the need for used clothing, whose importation is prohibited for sale, and illegal cigaretteswhich do not have health warnings approved by national legislation, are illegal prohibited goods and should be treated as such, rather than merely as contraband.
The expert in International Security and Transnational Illicit Trade at Athena Lab in Chile, Pilar Lizana, stated that one cannot speak of criminal groups or gangs that are organized for a specific crime and a specific illicit sale or transaction, since they are multinational criminal organizations.
Other outstanding exhibitions at the event, which is part of the III Meeting of South American Guilds and Chambers – Fight against Illicit Trade, were the Vice Minister of MYPE and Industry of the Ministry of Production, César Quispe; the national superintendent of Sunat, Gerardo López, who spoke about the challenges posed by illicit trade in the Chancay – Callao Industrial Logistics Hub, and the head of the Lima Fiscal Police Directorate, General PNP Nilton Santos Villalta, who spoke about smuggling routes in Peru.
There was also an international panel with the participation of the president of the CNC of Chile, José Pakomio; the first vice president of the CNI of Bolivia, Gonzalo Morales; and the manager of Foreign Trade and International Relations of the SNI, Silvia Hooker.
