3,428 kg of marijuana hidden under yerba mate seized in Entre Ríos; six held
Federal police stopped a truck carrying 3,428 kilograms of marijuana hidden among yerba mate sacks on Ruta Nacional 127 at Sauce de Luna, Entre Ríos, and searched 14 homes across three provinces, detaining six people. Federal authorities said the load came from Oberá, Misiones, and was bound for Río Cuarto, Córdoba, and the operation was presented as Operación Yerba mala.
Federal police intercepted a truck with a trailer on Ruta Nacional 127 and Ruta
Provincial 6 at Sauce de Luna, Entre Ríos, and seized3,428 kilograms of
marijuana packed in 3,342 blocks.[1]Simultaneous searches of 14 homes in
Misiones, Entre Ríos and Córdoba followed the seizure and left six people
detained, including the truck driver.[1]Officers also seized 10 vehicles, 40
mobile phones, firearms, ammunition, 127,990 pesos, four laptops, four tablets
and case documents.[1]
The marijuana travelled in burlap sacks declared as a load of yerba mate and
left Oberá, Misiones, for Río Cuarto, Córdoba, where it was to be distributed in
cities of that province.[2]
Federal judge Sergio Pintos of Bell Ville ordered the interception, guided by
the inquiry of federal prosecutor José María Uriarte.[2]Two cars escorting
the truck fled when police appeared.[2]
The operation, presented as Operación Yerba mala, was detailed in Bell Ville by
Security Minister Patricia Bullrich and federal police chief Néstor Roncaglia.[3]Bullrich said the case began in May with an operation at a drug sales point
in Bell Ville and led investigators to Oberá, where the drug was stored.[3]Bullrich said the shipment was meant for distribution in Córdoba and that the
organisation had been broken up.[3]
Photos and video
Picture published with the Security Ministry's release on the Sauce de Luna seizure, whose file name refers to the 3,428 kg of marijuana; it carries no caption or credit.Photo details
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Source: Argentina.gob.ar (Ministerio de Seguridad de la Nación)Security Minister Patricia Bullrich and Córdoba security minister Carlos Massei walking among the marijuana blocks seized in the operation. Photo: Prensa Gobierno de Córdoba.Photo details
The ministry's page is dated 20 September 2017; ENREDACCIÓN says the truck was seized on the night of Monday, and 18 September 2017 is used as the incident date.
Early reports spoke of about 10,000 kilograms of marijuana; the judge and the ministry gave the final figure of 3,428 kilograms, with several outlets rounding to some 3,500 kilograms, and the report uses 3,428.
Sources differ on the searches and vehicles: the ministry and Diario El Sureño give 14 homes and 10 vehicles, while ENREDACCIÓN reports 13 searches and six vehicles.
ENREDACCIÓN reports 150,000 pesos seized, while the ministry gives 127,990 pesos, the figure used here.
Diario El Sureño reports a street value of 60 million pesos for the load; other accounts give no value, so none is recorded.
The searches also seized cocaine, which is outside cannabis scope and is not counted in this report's figures.
No charges, court decision or sentence for the six detainees was reported.
Two vehicles that escorted the truck fled and no arrests of their occupants were reported.
Police in Salta detained a 26-year-old driver during a vehicle checkpoint on Ruta Nacional 9 in Campo Alegre, La Caldera. Officers from the División Investigación Narcocriminal 2 seized 70 doses of marijuana and cocaine after preliminary field tests.
Road police at the Subfluvial Tunnel control post identified a 33-year-old Buenos Aires man carrying cocaine and marijuana in a van. Field tests confirmed 2.1 grams of marijuana alongside 5.9 grams of cocaine, and the case was treated as simple possession.
Cleaning staff found a package of marijuana on a long-distance bus that had arrived at the Chajarí terminal in Entre Ríos after leaving Paraná, and the drivers called the police. Officers of the Federación department drug division tested and seized the substance and left the case with the prosecutor's office, with no one arrested.
Chaco police securing a woman's belongings from a room she rented in Resistencia found two cannabis seedlings, marijuana flowers and indoor growing equipment, and anti-drug officers' field tests were positive for marijuana. The woman was detained after another clash with the owner and released on the order of the anti-drug prosecutor's office, which kept the items but not the cash.
