The shipment, valued at some 33 thousand bolivianos (more than 4,700 dollars), was delivered to the Food Production Support Company for its sale at a fair price and weight.
The Deputy Minister of the Fight Against Smuggling, Luis Amílcar Velásquez, assured that the operation carried out in Chaguaya, department of La Paz, was successful.
The army reinforced the control on the way to the borders in order to detect the “reverse smuggling” of food, consisting of taking Bolivian products to neighboring countries, where their price is several times higher.
The Strategic Operational Command for the Fight against Smuggling (CEO-LCC) is in charge of protecting national production and operates on three lines: the first is located along the borders with Chile, Argentina, Paraguay and Peru; the second acts at customs crossings, with patrols, jointly with the National Customs, while the third executes control operations in the internal market, together with National Taxes, the Bolivian Police and other institutions.
President Luis Arce ordered recently the militarization of the borders to avoid the so-called reverse smuggling of national products with the corresponding effect on prices. “We have instructed the Armed Forces to militarize the borders, not to let national products leak out. There are still regulations that we are gradually issuing to tighten control at the borders,” said the head of State on Monday.
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