The criminals were transporting drugs ingested in capsules and hidden among their belongings.
As a result of the physical and documentary inspection, 249 wrappers containing more than 3 kilos of cocaine were detected, which were transported between the belongings and clothing of three women.
The Argentine National Gendarmerie managed to seize more than 10 kilos of cocaine after arresting 9 Bolivian criminals who were transporting drugs on a long-distance bus in the province of Tucumán.
The procedure made it possible to dismantle a maneuver that combined different modes of transporting drugs, including the use of “mules”.
The operation was carried out on National Route No. 38, on the interprovincial border with Catamarca, at the height of the department of La Cocha. There, members of the “Nucleus” Section, dependent on Squadron 71 “Aguilares”, stopped the march of a bus traveling from Aguas Blancas, Salta,
to the city of Mendoza.During the routine check, the gendarmes detected signs of nervousness in a female passenger of Bolivian origin, which prompted a search carried out by female personnel. In this procedure, it was found that the woman was hiding wrappers between her garments with a white substance inside
.
The inspection of the vehicle also made it possible to find packages hidden in different sectors of the bus. However, the discovery of capsules triggered alerts about a possible internal drug transport maneuver, a practice known as “capsules”, in which people ingest drugs, with a high risk to their health.
Given the magnitude of the case, the Federal Court of Tucumán No. 2 intervened, which ordered the bus and its 53 passengers to be transferred to the squad seat to deepen the controls.
In addition, on suspicion that other passengers had ingested drugs, radiographic studies were carried out on all the occupants of the bus. The results confirmed the presence of foreign bodies in the abdomen of six people, four women and two men, who were taken to health centers in custody
.
In the hospitals of Santa Ana and Los Sarmiento, those involved evacuated a total of 503 capsules weighing more than 6 kilos of cocaine. In addition to what was initially seized, the total amounted to 752 capsules, with a final weight of 10 kilos 316 grams of narcotic drugs, according to the count carried out by Criminalistics and Forensic
Studies personnel.By court order, 9 Bolivian immigrants were arrested. In addition, cell phones, chips, memory cards, cash, flash drives and other items considered relevant to the investigation were ordered to be seized
.After the operation, the Ministry of National Security highlighted the result through its social networks: “We arrested 9 Bolivians who were transporting more than 10 kilos of cocaine on a collective “Shopping Tour” in Tucumán,” they said.
They added: "Through the GNA, we discovered the criminals' maneuver: 6 of them had ingested the drug in capsules and the others were carrying it between their belongings. All arrested. In Argentina, whoever makes them pays for them.”
