Agents of the route control of the National Gendarmerie seized today a total of 7,000 liters of fuel that were transported in a dozen tanks, by stopping and inspecting a Cargo vehicle whose occupants did not have the documentation corresponding to the transfer of fuel, within the framework of the reinforcement of operations in border areas.
Official sources reported that members of the Gendarmerie carried out a motorized patrol along National Route 11 in the province of Formosawhen they stopped the movement of a vehicle modified for the transfer of cargo.
At the time of the inspection, the officials detected eight plastic tanks and four metal ones containing a total of 7,000 liters of gasoline, for which the occupants of the vehicle did not have the corresponding documentation nor did they transfer the fuel in the appropriate conditions.
The intervening judge ordered the seizure of the fuel found with an appraisal of more than $1.1 million, and in addition, the shot was seized and those involved were subject to the cause.
Last week, the Ministry of Security and the Secretary of Energy agreed to increase controls aimed at detecting and preventing the smuggling of fuel and, in particular, diesel oil from Argentina to neighboring countries, as part of the measures adopted to ensure the best supply of that fuel for the use of the different productive sectors.
On the occasion of the operation this morning, it was reported that the modality of this type of criminal operations, commonly occurs in areas surrounding the border using secondary roads or neighborhood tracks.
Transport schedules are preferably at night and carried out by people who know the geography of the place, while the vehicles used are pick-ups and utility vehicles, with cargo or drag capacity and it is ruled out that due to the type of transport, they are not enabled. to load this type of substance.
The use of motorized cargo trucks on paths that lead to the international border was also detected, which do not operate in an improvised manner because it requires prior recognition of the path to be traveled and, with respect to fuel, they are limited in weight, which ranges between 750 and 900 kilos. so they could transport about 1,000 liters of gasoline or diesel.
The same sources also specified that it is common the so-called ant smuggling, in particular, in those cities that have a dry border, such as Bernardo de Irigoyen and San Antonio in Misiones, or the towns located to the west of Formosa that border on Paraguay.
Finally, the bulk river transport modality was detailed for which small boats (boats and canoes) are used and nearby routes are set to make several trips (round trip) of the same load. They look for places suitable for this type of smuggling, preferably in places with access to provincial routes.
