During operations carried out at strategic points early Thursday morning, especially on the border, seizures valued at 1.7 million bolivianos ($242,000) were made from smugglers, the head of the agency, Colonel Luis Velázquez, stated at a press conference.

“(…) There was an impact, especially in terms of reverse smuggling and import smuggling, of 1.7 million bolivianos; that figure is only for approximately 24 hours,” stated Velázquez, who mentioned among the seizures 700 quintals of corn seized in the Aguayamaya sector, on the border with Peru; 350 quintals of sugar in the same area, 3,000 liters of diesel in the Guaqui area of ​​La Paz; and a truck loaded with illegally imported fabrics intercepted in Berenguela.

“During one of the operations, a patrol car was hit by another vehicle in an attempt to obstruct the operation, an event that did not prevent the seizure or delivery of the shipment to National Customs,” the officer explained.

Regarding reverse smuggling (the illegal transfer of goods to neighboring countries), Velásquez confirmed that the seized food will be delivered to the Food Production Support Company for sale at a “fair weight and price.”

Velásquez also reported the arrest of two people linked to the illegal transportation of meat, who were placed at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. He also stated that since President Luis Arce issued a “hard line against smuggling” policy last Friday, seizures have reached 3.5 million bolivianos (US$500,000).

The colonel confirmed the deployment of 1,480 additional border patrol officers to reinforce control along the main entry and exit routes for illegal merchandise. He also described the operations as consisting of border control, surveillance of main and secondary roads, along with customs, and interdiction operations in markets, where concealment of basic household goods was detected in at least six departments.

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