• 5 min de lectura
• 5 min de lectura
The disposal of wood impregnated with cocaine and other substances, seized at the Port of Arica, would cost the Chilean State 8 billion pesos (USD 8.55 million). The cargo, originating from Bolivia, was detected last June, consisting of 1,080 tons of forest product transported in 45 containers.
The operation, which also involved the ports of Valparaíso and San Antonio, resulted in the largest seizure of its kind in Chile's history, considering that between 10% and 20% of each detected wood load corresponded to illicit substances. This amounted to 100 tons of drugs, mainly cocaine hydrochloride and ketamine, destined for various international markets such as Germany, Belgium, France, the Czech Republic, Morocco, the United States, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Mauritius, the United Kingdom, and the Dominican Republic.
The detections were achieved through analysis and profiling of the cargo, along with the action of canine units from both institutions and the use of special technologies, with each case confirmed by analyses from the Public Health Institute (ISP).
Regarding the final disposal of the seized substances and wood product, the Presidential Delegate of Arica and Parinacota, Cristián Sayes, revealed to PortalPortuario that its destruction has a cost of 8 billion pesos.
The authority also recalled the cost of disposing of seized chemical precursors that were abandoned in the city's port for five years. In that case, the product had to be sent to Santiago for disposal at a cost of 1 billion pesos.
"We must generate a fast and efficient inspection flow and create a destruction capacity that is not immediate, but quick. In fact, we are already conducting tests on how to do it here. We still had to send the precursors to Santiago for destruction, which cost us almost a billion, and these must come from fiscal resources. The wood was costing 8 billion pesos to destroy, as reusing it involves a more complex process for which we do not have the capacity, so destruction is the only way," Sayes said.
"We must work on optimizing inspection times and having the capacity not to hinder the exporter, logistics, or port operations. We must be a strategic partner and apply all the resources we have to ensure a rapid flow, from when the container arrives for inspection, and if laboratory tests are conducted, they should be done on-site so we don't have to send them to Santiago," the governmental authority emphasized.
Regardless of the cost, Sayes affirmed that the disposal of the wood can be carried out in the Arica Region without major setbacks, unlike the case of chemical precursors, which currently have no local option.
"It has a significant cost, but what is complex are the precursors, not the wood. In the case of wood, we have the faculty to destroy it by combustion, and that takes us about two and a half hours. We did a test with two tons, and it worked very well, but the important thing is to fine-tune the logistics times for moving and destroying all these elements. We must not forget that these procedures are under Law 20.000, so they have full monitoring, inspection, and corroboration that everything is destroyed," he explained.
"In any case, we are trying to be more agile so as not to hinder the port's work and so that the soy industries in Brazil, wood or minerals, or all products that can leave through Arica, trust that the institutions are ensuring that the passage of products related to drug trafficking and smuggling is handled meticulously, and that innocent parties do not pay for the guilty. Therefore, it is important to implement rapid inspection and verification processes to confirm that elements are not contaminated, so they can continue their journey or be seized if appropriate, without losing time or space for a more efficient flow," he added.
The authority also stated that Chile is working with various control agencies in Bolivia to prevent the flow of illicit cargo that is permeating, in this case, the altiplano country's forestry industry. Similarly, he dismissed the idea that the blow to drug trafficking at the Arica port was intended to discredit the timber sector and the Bolivian country brand.
"This is undoubtedly very good for finally defeating drug trafficking that is permeating Bolivia's timber industry and Chilean ports. That is what we are trying to promote or raise awareness about with Bolivia, because they have every willingness to collaborate, but at one point, the idea emerged that the aim was to discredit their timber industry and that there were no certainties, but we do have them. Here, a field test was positive, samples were sent to the Public Health Institute which confirmed that the product was contaminated with cocaine hydrochloride and ketamine," he stated.
"Ultimately, I am very satisfied not only with the drug seizure, as we want to go much deeper and collaborate internationally with the Federal Prosecutor's Office of Bolivia, to provide them with background information on the origin of this wood and be able to expedite the process, because if we keep this wood here, the process stays here. Therefore, we must be quick in taking samples, not hinder transport and logistics, so that the container is marked and continues its course, collaborating with the International Police so that the destination drug trafficker can be arrested, as the ultimate goal is to dismantle that entire gang," he emphasized.