In Los Libertadores, authorities intercept contraband veterinary medicines hidden in a spare tire
The keen and trained eye of the operators of the National Customs Service’s scanner truck stationed at the Los Libertadores border crossing was crucial in uncovering a large and dangerous contraband operation.
As part of routine inspections of cargo vehicles traveling through this international corridor, a truck from Córdoba, Argentina, was selected to undergo a non-invasive inspection.
After passing through the radiological portal of the scanner truck and during the analysis of the x-ray images, the experts from the Regional Customs of Los Andes stopped at some anomalous shapes that were seen inside one of the spare wheels, located under the chassis of the vehicle ramp.
This information was enough for a team of inspectors to remove the tire and open it to confirm their suspicions: inside, the smugglers had managed to hide 384 boxes of veterinary medicine bottles.
The count revealed the detection of 191 bottles of the 50 ml MV Chinfield drug and another 193 bottles of Diuretic, also 50 ml each.
One of the illegal uses of the first product, a cardiorespiratory stimulant, is to dope racehorses. The second, due to its potent diuretic properties, is used in both animals and humans to avoid testing positive in doping tests. All of these goods were valued at over $9,000.
“This seizure demonstrates the operational and detection capabilities of the National Customs Service, because it was achieved thanks to both the use of technology and the experience of the officials who were able to correctly read the x-ray images that revealed this smuggling attempt,” explained the Director of the Los Andes Regional Customs Office, Ángelo Vergara, adding that “we were also able to prevent the entry into the country of goods that could cause obvious harm to public health.”
