Chile Seizes 1,080 Tons of Lumber Laced With Cocaine and Ketamine Headed to Europe
Chilean customs officials said the Monday seizure of cocaine and ketamine hidden in 45 containers from Bolivia carries an estimated $8.3 billion retail value on the European market.
citizen.co.zaChilean authorities announced Monday the seizure of 1,080 tons of lumber containing cocaine and ketamine hidden inside 45 shipping containers that arrived from Bolivia. 3 billion on the European market and described the operation as a historic blow to organized crime. Vice Adm.
Arturo Oxley said the seizure equals 100 years of the agency’s budget. The bureau credited a six-month investigation and the work of canine teams and special detection technologies for locating the drugs inside the timber. National Director of Customs Alejandra Arriaza highlighted the training of staff and the performance of canine units across the country.
The agency said the illicit drugs are typically shipped to more than a dozen international markets, including the United States. Officials stated that extracting the substances at their destination would have required advanced chemical processes in specialized laboratories. The total quantity of seized drugs may increase as authorities examine additional suspicious containers.
The lumber shipments were bound for Europe. In April, Brazilian police seized a record 48 tons of drugs uncovered by a sniffer dog named Hulk in Rio de Janeiro.
