Cigarette smuggling in Concordia: 300,000 packets disguised as trainers valued at USD 428,000
Federal Police intercepted a lorry carrying 300,000 packets of smuggled cigarettes in Entre Ríos. The driver was remanded in custody.
Lorry with 300,000 cigarette packets camouflaged as footwear stopped in Concordia
The Argentine Federal Police (PFA) intercepted on Tuesday, 27 October, at 19:25, an Iveco lorry with a semi-trailer on National Route 14, near its junction with National Route 015, in the city of Concordia, Entre Ríos. On board, according to infobae.com, were 300,000 packets of smuggled cigarettes with a provisional valuation of USD 428,293.
The vehicle was coming from Bernardo de Irigoyen, a town in Misiones province, and was allegedly headed for Buenos Aires province. When asked to provide documentation, the driver—also from Misiones—presented the papers and declared that he was transporting trainers, sheets, electric kettles, and mate cups.
Customs scanner reveals hidden bundles
Inconsistencies in the documentation aroused suspicion among officers from the Federal Concordia Operational Unit Division, who involved the Federal Court of Concordia, headed by judge Analía Ramponi, with the Criminal Secretariat of Alan Bergoldt.
By judicial order, the lorry was taken to the ARCA-Customs facilities, where a cargo scanner inspected the container without needing to open it. The images showed bundles whose shapes were consistent with cigarette boxes, which prompted a fresh authorisation to conduct a physical inspection of the cargo.
Upon opening the container, officers found 600 boxes of foreign origin: 550 of the Gift brand and 50 of Coronado, which totalled 30,000 cartons, equivalent to the 300,000 packets seized.
Forged documentation under investigation
Along with the merchandise, the lorry, the semi-trailer, the container, the driver's mobile telephone, and documentation considered relevant to the case were seized. Among the examined papers, an apparent National Gendarmerie record appeared, the authenticity of which is under investigation.
Investigators are seeking to determine whether this documentation was used to justify the transport and to establish how the operation was organised from Misiones to Buenos Aires.
Remand in custody and raid in Misiones
Following the discovery, the Federal Court ordered the detention and solitary confinement of the driver, initially charged in a case classified as harbouring in connection with smuggling. On Thursday, 29 October, after two days in detention, the man was questioned by the court. At the conclusion of the hearing, it was ordered that he remain deprived of his liberty under remand in custody while evidence-gathering measures proceed.
The investigation also resulted in a raid in Misiones province, although no details of the results of that operation have been released so far.
The case is being heard by the Federal Court of Concordia with the involvement of the Federal Prosecution headed by Francisco Bertrand, and is aimed at establishing the scope of the scheme, the origin of the cigarettes, and the possible involvement of other people in the transport and distribution of the merchandise.
Source: Google News AR — Buenos Aires