Police escort liquefied petroleum gas trucks from Senkata to curb smuggling
The Police launched a permanent operation to accompany liquefied gas distribution trucks from El Alto to sales points. The operation seeks to cut the diversion of cylinders towards smuggling, even to Peru.
Police operation safeguards liquefied gas distribution in La Paz and El Alto
According to vision360.bo, the Bolivian Police launched a special operation on Thursday to escort liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distribution trucks from the bottling plant in Senkata, El Alto, to sales points in La Paz and El Alto.
Departmental commander Ricardo Terrazas confirmed that the operation would be permanent and would be extended to the rest of the country. "This is going to be replicated throughout the country, precisely because of the diversion cases we have recorded in recent weeks, when we managed to seize more than 500 cylinders that were being diverted to different places, especially towards Peru," said the police chief.
Personnel from the National Hydrocarbon Agency (ANH) and Bolivia's State Oil Company (YPFB) are also participating in the operations, aimed at containing the shortage of the product that is attributed to smuggling.
The measure responds to complaints indicating that some distribution trucks were diverting LPG to restaurants and neighbourhood shops, where the cylinder was sold well above the official price of Bs 22.50 set by state subsidy.
Hydrocarbons Minister Marcelo Blanco joined the supervision of supply at the Government headquarters on Thursday. "We have agreed with the commander that controls must be carried out every day. The Command has to send an officer in each truck to make sure they do not divert national fuel. Control has to be at the national level," the official said.
In recent weeks, residents of La Paz and El Alto staged street blockades with cylinders in protest over the shortage of the supply.
Source: Google News BO — La Paz