Page Seven / La Paz
Chilean customs seized three gold bars and 169 gold rings in Quillagua, Iquique, from Bolivia. An expert observes the lack of control that exists in the exit of the metal from the national territory.
“The smuggling of gold is impressive from Brazil to Bolivia, or from Peru to Bolivia or vice versa due to high prices and low taxes and royalties. Production centers are not controlled and the exit borders worse, ”said former Minister of Mining Dionisio Garzón.
He explained that a kilo of gold has the volume of a cigarette pack and is easy to hide and pass; controls fail.
In Garzón’s criteria, there are many trading companies in the country and the metal is legally sold as marginal gold and does not pay much tax. “There must be a stricter control throughout the chain, from the gold production area, in this way the commercialization will have to be legal,” Garzón said.
The contraband detected in Chile was transported by a Bolivian citizen inside a car from Iquique to Calama. The regional director of the Iquique customs, Cristian Molina Silva, pointed out that during the inspection of a 2015 Hyundai Accent car driven by BAL (25 years old), it was detected that there were three hidden gold bars in the back seat, of which total weight was six kilos and 640 grams. Additionally, a bag with 169 gold rings of different sizes was found in the driver’s jacket.
When interviewed, the driver indicated that the gold bars were given to him by his sister in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and were smuggled into Chile through the unauthorized Pisiga Choque pass.
