Argentina’s security forces kicked off the new year dealing a blow to narcotrafficking, seizing nearly 3 tons of marijuana during the first half of January 2022.
On January 15, units of the Argentine Naval Prefecture seized more than 335 kilograms of marijuana in the town of Santa Ana, Misiones province, during patrols in the border areas with Brazil and Paraguay.
Authorities carried out one of the operations during a riverine patrol on the Paraná River, in which personnel detected a boat loaded with packages of marijuana, heading for the riverbank. During another interdiction, Prefecture units found two bales containing more than 50 packages of pressed marijuana on a dirt road.
Operation in Chaco
On January 11, Naval Prefecture elements intercepted a truck carrying 656 kg of marijuana and arrested two people during a vehicle inspection in the city of Barranqueras, Chaco province. “Prefecture personnel, who were conducting routine tasks, detected two men in a vehicle who were visibly nervous,” the Argentine news site El Territorio reported.
“Suspecting a crime, [authorities] inspected the vehicle thoroughly and found 638 packages of drugs in the [vehicle’s] body and among sawdust bags,” the Prefecture said.
Posadas
In the early hours of January 6, units of the naval institution seized more than 646 kg of marijuana on the banks of the Paraná River near Posadas, capital of Misiones province. “The operation was the result of the continuous water and land patrols carried out in the border area to prevent crime,” the Prefecture said.
Prefecture personnel found the drugs in an area of the Garupá municipality, 16 km from Misiones’ capital, the Argentine news site El Territorio reported. Criminals had hidden the marijuana in 18 packages that had been brought in from Paraguay, the Prefecture said.
Puerto Esperanza
On January 3, members of the Argentine Gendarmerie seized nearly 1,200 kg of the drug in two operations in the town of Puerto Esperanza, Misiones province. The operation began when members of the “Eldorado” Squadron 10 were carrying out motorized patrols in the area and were alerted by seemingly recent tire tracks on a dirt road.
“Officials found 19 packages of different shapes and sizes hidden among the vegetation, together with 586 rectangular packages containing cannabis sativa,” the Gendarmerie said in a statement. The packages contained 263 kg of marijuana.
Two hours later, agents of the same unit followed other tire tracks on foot and found two other similar caches. “Uniformed personnel counted a total of 79 packages containing 916 kg of marijuana, distributed in 1,616 bricks,” the Gendarmerie added.
