Illegal Rice from Costa Rica Valued at $50,000+ Seized in Panama
The first articulated trailer, a grey trailer with a blue wagon, carried 533 sacks. More than 1,000 sacks of smuggled rice seized as pictured below.
Units of the Western Battalion of the National Border Service (Senafront) seized two articulated trucks at the San Isidro checkpoint in the Bugaba district, allegedly linked to rice smuggling from Costa Rica. During an inspection conducted by the Anti-Narcotics Directorate, it was found that both vehicles were transporting a total of 1,031 sacks of rice, with an estimated commercial value of more than $50,000.
The first articulated trailer, a gray trailer with a blue wagon, carried 533 sacks. The second, a white trailer with a red wagon, carried 498 sacks of grain. The drivers of the vehicles were detained and placed at the disposal of the competent authorities, while the National Customs Authority maintains open investigations to determine the possible commission of the crime of smuggling. This operation is part of the surveillance at border checkpoints and is intended to prevent the entry of illegal goods that pose a threat to the local economy and national production.
