Chilean authorities to destroy contraband Peruvian avocado shipment - FreshFruitPortal.com

Chilean authorities to destroy contraband Peruvian avocado shipment

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Chilean authorities to destroy contraband Peruvian avocado shipment

With the second-highest rate of consumption per capita in the world, Chile is a lucrative avocado market but a smuggler recently found the hard way that trading of the high-value fruit must be done by the book.

Photo: SAG

Photo: SAG

In a routine patrol near the border with Peru, police intercepted a vehicle carrying 600 plastic boxes filled with the fruit, with a total volume of 12 metric tons (MT).

The vehicle caught the police's attention due to its high speed and the fact its headlights were off.

The contraband cargo was passed to the Agriculture and Livestock Service, whose regional director for Arica and Parinacota, Ricardo Porcel Rivera, thanked the police for the detection.

Porcel Rivera highlighted the presence of police was essential for such interceptions near the Peruvian and Bolivian borders.

The avocados were estimated to have a value of CLP24 million (US$36,526), and are set to be destroyed by SAG.

The driver of the vehicle was a Chilean national.

Headline photo: www.shutterstock.com

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