The General Directorate of Customs (DGA) prevented the smuggling of more than 1,200 vaccines against equine encephalomyelitis that entered the country “irregularly from Brazil, without the corresponding health guarantees”, within the framework of a new outbreak of the disease in the territory national, the organization reported.
This type of merchandise cannot be imported through the Baggage Regime since it requires health security endorsements from the National Agri-Food Health and Quality Service (Senasa), indicated the DGA, which The seized merchandise was valued at more than $18 million. by customs personnel and the total fine could amount to $54 million.
Given the outbreak of the disease, which required the declaration of a national health emergency, “many make use of the situation to market the product irregularly in the national market,” the agency indicated.
As a result of this, Customs contacted Senasa and the Argentine Rural Society (SRA) to make the vaccines available to horse breeders, once their safe use had been verified.
The first discovery was during routine checks at the Santo Tomé – Sao Borja border crossing, where an Argentine driver residing in Córdoba showed up at the Customs post and assured that he had nothing to declare.
“But as the man showed some nervousness, the customs agents suspected something and decided to carry out an exhaustive check of the vehicle,” the agency said in a statement.
Thus, “the discovery occurred when they opened the trunk, there were two thermal preservers with 120 blister packs of the drug and syringes for veterinary use, all the merchandise was of Brazilian origin. However, this Argentine was not the only person who tried to bring in the vaccines irregularly.”
During another check at the same border crossing, a man who lived in Corrientes also tried to enter the country with the vaccines.
When the vehicle inspection began, the driver tried to avoid it, but after speaking with the customs personnel he calmed down.
“I had three nylon bags in the back seat of the car, inside there were 1,210 doses, two test tubes with clot activator and a bottle with the legend ‘Potenay’, an equine comfort tonic for veterinary use. Everything was original Brazilian,” the report detailed.
The third seizure of this vaccine was at the border crossing between Paso de los Libres and Uruguayana. There, another Argentine driver tried to enter the country with the undeclared vaccine, however during the inspection they found 10 doses of the drug.
Senasa indicated that in relation to the availability of vaccines, it is working with the chambers of veterinary products and laboratories to increase the number of vaccines and to prioritize their shipment to the areas where there is the greatest presence of the disease. According to what was reported by the laboratories, To the doses recently approved this week, another 300,000 are projected to be available next week and that this availability will continue regularly.
2023-12-09 17:51:32
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