Global Courant 2023-04-30 18:03:38
Customs seized a record shipment of ketamine at the triple border, when they stopped a truck carrying more than 60 liters of the drug hidden in drums.
A Paraguayan driver was detained, who could receive a sentence of up to 16 years in prison. The shipment, which was bound for Uruguay, has a value close to $622,500.
According to Customs sources, the arrest occurred in a routine operation at the Posadas – Encarnación International Border Crossing. The troops were struck by a truck that was entering Argentina in transit, which produced a curious result on the scanner.
Immediately, the physical control of the vehicle found a striking number of drums, in a variety of sizes. Thus, the Customs inspectors consulted the driver they were bringing and he assured that they only contained water for personal consumption.
However, the containers were still curious: on the one hand, several did not have brands or labels and, on the other, they generally had screw caps, which was strange. Almost 60 liters for personal consumption.
For this reason, the customs agents proceeded to open them: they immediately perceived that they emanated a strange, albeit subtle, odor. Also, the water did not seem crystal clear.
They subjected the liquid to field tests and the result was positive for ketamine, a horse tranquilizer with a hallucinogenic effect on humans. Although it is usually sold as a powder, it is also sold in liquid form and is generally associated with electronic parties.
Customs notified the Federal Court of Posadas, in charge of Dr. María Verónica Skanata, who ordered the seizure of the narcotics, the retention of the means of transport and the arrest of the driver.
In total, no less than 60 liters of the substance were recorded. The driver, for his part, was accused of violating article 866 of the Customs Code and could receive up to 16 years in prison.
They found dead a former head of Customs, suspected of smuggling ketamine
The former administrator of the Paso de los Libres Customs, Cristina del Valle Castillo, was found dead in her home in Santa Fe, weeks after being arrested in Brazil with contraband goods. It is also being investigated whether there was a game of “ketamine” among her belongings.
At the end of March, a domestic employee was unable to enter the house of the former official in Sauce Viejo, Santa Fe. So, she called her daughter who, with the help of a neighbor, entered through the window and “into one of the bathrooms in the house, located in Sauce Viejo, sitting leaning forward, no longer vital signs”.
According to the Santa Fe media, the deceased former official had had a “strong discussion” with unknown persons a few days before. A Santa Fe prosecutor investigates the case as a dubious death and under summary secrecy.
When she was arrested in Brazil on January 16, Del Valle Castillo identified herself as the head of the Paso De Los Libres Customs, but when the police asked her to check the truck, she got nervous and refused to open the doors of the Nissan.
He then agreed to open the vehicle and the police found merchandise hidden in black bags. They seized her items, seized her official vehicle, and let her leave after opening an investigation.
In the Nissan, an official AFIP car that she was driving when she was arrested in Brazil, she was seized “cymbals, drums, cell phones, Italian shoe lasts, veterinary supplies, brushes, slippers, and items intended for a troupe, all of that in quantity.” considerable”, says an official report from the Brazilian police to which this newspaper accessed.
In that report you see syringes for horses and another one under the heading “equine medication packet”. The syringes could have contained semen for racehorses and the drugs could have been ketamine. Customs sources specified that Brazilian Customs “has not yet sent an official report” confirming the presence of the drug among the goods.
