360 packages of cocaine seized from truck with secret compartment in Bermejo
The FELCN found 360 bricks of cocaine valued at $US 648,000 hidden in a refrigerated truck. The driver was sent to preventive detention for 180 days.
Truck concealing mattresses hid 360 packages of cocaine bound for Argentina
Agents of the Special Force to Combat Drug Trafficking (FELCN) seized 360 packages of cocaine hydrochloride hidden in a secret compartment of a refrigerated truck, according to El Deber. The vehicle was transporting mattresses and was heading from Oruro towards Bermejo, in the department of Tarija.
The discovery was made at a control post, where the driver, identified as Gerardo Arturo V. L., showed nervousness during questioning. Agents inspected the upper part of the cargo and located the so-called "macaco", a hidden space from which they extracted the brick-shaped packages, wrapped in yellow adhesive tape.
The field test returned a positive result for cocaine. The authorities proceeded with the seizure of the substance, the apprehension of the driver, and the confiscation of the vehicle and a mobile telephone.
Evidence suggests that the drug's final destination was Argentina, to be smuggled across the border at Bermejo. The departmental prosecutor of Tarija, Ernesto Mogro, characterised the operation as a significant blow: "This would be a very hard blow to drug trafficking, the biggest blow being dealt in many years".
In Bolivia, the estimated value of the seized cocaine amounts to 648,000 dollars; at the border, that figure would rise to 828,000 dollars.
Gerardo Arturo V. L. was brought before a judge at a hearing on precautionary measures. The magistrate ordered his preventive detention for 180 days in the Morros Blancos penitentiary.
Source: El Deber