Ship scanning: the measure to strengthen the prevention of drug entries

In order to prevent the entry of drugs and contraband material into Argentina, the General Directorate of Customs performs a procedure that involves scanning ships.

The measure began to be implemented in the middle of last year after the assumption of Michael Guillermo in front of the area. To date, the DGA has 24 scanners which are used in ports but also at border posts to fight against drug trafficking and smuggling. At the end of January, the organization moved forward with the concretization of a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to add five additional scanners – in this case trucks – worth 3.5 million dollars each.

It also issued summonses to port terminals operated by private individuals to invest in a continuous flow arc scanner, a technology that requires an investment of between $5 and $6 million per unit, to improve non-intrusive reviews. With regard to the latter, the General Directorate of Customs has only one scanner of this type, located in Terminal 4 of the port of Buenos Aires, and allows the control of 800 containers per day, of which 80% correspond to imports and the remaining 20% ​​to exports. In turn, of that 20% of exports, 80% are scanned and only 5% yield results in situations primarily related to smuggling, he said. Rosana LudovicoDeputy Director General of Metropolitan Customs Operations, in an interview she gave to Telam Agency last January.

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Vessel scanning is a key measure in the fight against drug trafficking. In Rosariowith regard to all exports that operate in the port, it has been decided to scan immediately before being embarked, avoiding contamination under the modality rip off. “Guillermo Michel has taken an interesting step, which is to scan all ships that have come with the Paraguayan flag”underlined the national deputy of the Frente de Todos, Roberto Mirabellewho ensured that the provision of the DGA reduced the entry of drugs into the country.

According to Mirabella, “a simple control measure to scan ships that customs put in place” a few months ago discouraged the entry of drugs that were previously detected in Rosario and are now being discovered in other destinations. outside the country, said the legislator on television statements.

However, he claimed that they have “the largest agro-export port complex in the world” and “obviously much more severe control by the naval prefecture, Senasa and customs is necessary”.

It should be noted that between Rosario and the jurisdictions of San Lorenzo and Santa Fe, between 75 and 80% of total exports are controlled. While the port of Buenos Aires controls between 75 and 80% of the country’s total imports.

At the General Directorate of Customs, they argue that they must incorporate at least four additional scanners to “update” and add places where there are none, such as the Bernardo de Irigoyen pass in Misiones (with Brazil ) and the Jama pass in Jujuy.

Speaking to the press, Michel said of the Jama Pass, which allows passage to Chile: “It’s a place at 4,400 meters above sea level that works a lot because of mining and we’re also anticipating all the trade flow due to the lithium issue.”

With information from the Telam Agency.

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