On the tip of Argentina's northern border, merely two kilometres from the centre of the city of Aguas Blancas, Salta Province, lies an estate named Finca Karina – a key spot for taking items across the border to neighbouring Bolivia.
From nearby Ruta Nacional 50, a rural path leads up to a beach on the Bermejo River to the crossing. The area has specially prepared to receive dinghies that pass from one country to the other across the water.
There is one key point, though: here there are no customs checkpoints or controls.This is an illegal border crossing.
Until recently, there was a constant flow of traffic, overseen by a group of at least 11 people, including a police officer. Cargo would arrive from Bolivia, goods of any kind – appliances, clothing, perfumes, food and electronics, among other things – and shipments in reverse order towards the neighbouring country.
Images captured by the drones of investigators – and an undercover police mole – showed quite the picture: tens of vans and cars parked on the riverbank, with dinghies coming and going across the water, loaded with goods.
According to Orán federal prosecutor Marcos Romero, the organisation overseeing Finca Karina had designed a collection system which ensured an income worth millions – all of it in cash.
At the entrance, every vehicle had to pay 2,000 pesos to enter. At the beach, 1,000 pesos were taken as a levy for every unloaded or loaded parcel. With an average of 300 vehicles per day, each one transporting around 10 parcels, the revenue could be as high as three million pesos per day.
This was in addition to another source of income: the six food stalls operating within the premises. Sellers had to pay 20,000 pesos per day for a permit. The service, intended to cater to the tens of loaders, drivers and other smugglers, added nearly 720,000 pesos per week to the illegal circuit.
The official calculation reflects the broad dimension of the business: operating six days a week, total income reached an estimated 3,720,000 pesos per day – that is, nearly 229 million pesos a month. Projected out to a full year, the business exceeded 2.97 billion pesos, according to a joint report by Argentina’s ARCA tax agency and the General Customs Office (DGA).
Family business
The terrain of Finca Karina recently changed hands. The land was purchased in February by Gladis Salazar for around 20 million pesos, in a transaction that was difficult to justify given her asset profile.
The seller – oddly enough – was her brother Alfredo Salazar, who is based in Bolivia. He has been singled out as one of the main smugglers by investigators.
Next door to the property, the group controlled a second adjoining tract on the beach, registered in the name of a deceased woman, Blanca Cortez, and subject to adverse possession proceedings commenced by José Cardozo, the father of three of the accused.
As explained by the investigators, this double ownership allowed them to monopolise both route access and the loading and unloading area, closing off the territorial control circuit.
The daily administration was entrusted to José Suárez, siblings Francisca, Carmen and Jorge Cardozo and Pedro Rivero, who organised transit, verified payments and supervised the boarding and landing of goods.
The group also coordinated shipments to Bolivia, albeit on a low scale.
The presence of María Laura Tintilay, a Salta Province police officer, as the manager of one of the collection points also shows the organisation’s ability to infiltrate local security forces and ensure protection.
According to reports, the scheme included “soldiers” who warned about possible checks, as well as staff tasked with watching the perimeter and ensuring order in loading areas. It was all organised to maximise the speed of crossings and reduce the exposure time of the travelling goods.
Legal probe
A full investigation started on May 26 this year, when authorities started to notice the number of entries to Finca Karina.
The Gendarmerie’s Complex Crime Unit was involved, with Border Guards specialising in surveillance, follow-up and audiovisual records. The use of an undercover operative helped obtain direct evidence about the flow of vehicles and goods, as well as to identify the people in charge of the operation.
With the evidence gathered, an federal judge in nearby Tartagal, Ivana Hernández, ordered the search of the farm and other dwellings in Orán.
Raids, conducted on August 4, led to the mobilisation of 170 officers from the Border Guard, Coast Guard, Federal Police, Salta Police, Customs and ARCA.
Eleven suspects were arrested and have been remanded in custody, indicted with conspiracy and aggravated smuggling. Judges ordered the closing of the estate and the posting of a permanent detail of troops from the Border Guard, in order to prevent the clandestine passage from reopening.
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