Gendarmerie seizes 5,497 kg of marijuana in firewood truck in Villa Ángela
Gendarmería Nacional seized 5,497 kg of marijuana hidden under firewood in a cattle-style truck stopped near Villa Ángela, Chaco, and detained the driver. The load, packed in 252 jute bags, was travelling from Formosa toward Buenos Aires when found on Route 95.
Gendarmería Nacional, Argentina’s national gendarmerie, detained one man and
seized5,497 kg of marijuana hidden in a truck carrying firewood in Chaco
province.[1]The operation was carried out by the Villa Ángela section of
Squadron 1 Roque Sáenz Peña on National Route 95 near the city of Villa Ángela.[1]The operation took place within Escudo Norte, the anti-drug operation
designed by the Security Ministry.[2]
Officers found 252 jute bags of rectangular blocks wrapped in packing tape
hidden under the wood, with a total weight of 5,497 kg of marijuana.[2]The
truck was a model usually used to transport cattle and was carrying timber from
Formosa province bound for Buenos Aires province.[2]Officers stopped the
livestock-style truck during a routine check after noticing the load of stacked
firewood, according to the force’s account.[3]A second Chaco account likewise
reports that officers found the 252 jute bags hidden under the timber.[4]
The federal judge of Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña, Zunilda Niremperger,
authorised a full search of the truck, and a court under her ordered the seizure
of the drug and the driver’s detention.[2]The truck was inspected inside a
service station on National Route 95 near the entrance to Villa Ángela.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
No separate date for the interception was published; 6 June 2013 is the government page's publication date and is used as the incident date.
El Liberal says the firewood came from Güemes in Salta province, while the other sources say the timber came from Formosa province; the report uses the matching accounts.
El Liberal describes the load as 559 panes in 84 bundles rather than only 252 jute bags; the 252-bag and 5,497 kg figures are used because three sources agree on them.
The driver's identity and any later court outcome were not 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.
