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Customs police confiscated 1.5 tons of merchandise for possible tax evasion |
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 By the A.M. Costa
Rica staff
The Supervision Department of the National Customs Service seized more than 1.5 tons of goods that were not declared when time they were imported. The confiscated products were packed in 174 boxes and contained food supplements although they were declared as empty plastic bottles. The Directorate of Customs Enforcement stated that this false declaration was intended to evade tax payment and the Ministry of Health’s requirements for the import of such supplements. Juan Gómez, general director of customs, said "we will continue the administrative and judicial actions against the customs agent and the importer, both for the attempted evasion and for being subject to regulation, which put people’s health at risk." The merchandise will be sent to the customs warehouses of the Juan Santamaría airport in Alajuela*, where officials of the Ministry of Health will destroy the products that do not have the necessary health permits that allow them to be sold and consumed in Costa Rica. As A.M. Costa Rica reported on Jan. 31, the Fiscal Control Police seized a total of 162,125 units of products like deodorants, medicines, and toothpastes suspected of being contraband because the items did not have the permit registration of the Ministry of Health. The police report that the seizure was made in La Cruz*, Guanacaste where six people were arrested, five Costa Ricans and one Guatemalan. They were traveling from Nicaragua to San Jose. In what was apparently a routine control operation, the officers requested the documents related to the merchandise and then noted that there were no records of the sanitary permit from the Ministry of Health. This Ministry of Health document is obligatory for every health-related product in Costa Rica. |
 National Customs Service courtesy photo 1.5 tons
of goods were packed in 174 boxes although
they were declared as empty plastic bottles.
In addition to the merchandise, officials seized the truck used for transporting the products, a vehicle in which some of the suspects were traveling and a motorcycle being used by another suspect. Irving Malespín, director of the police, said "the Ministry will continue to confront smugglers and prevent the illegal entry of products into the country." The judicial agents took the suspects to the cells of the Public Ministry where a judge set the pre-trial measures. In this case, however, the judge released the suspects until the total value of the suspect merchandise can be estimated. According to the Ministry of Finance, the tax control police have the authority to make special control operations for identifying possible transportation or distribution of contraband. -------- Do you agree that the merchandise should be destroyed without a judge’s ruling? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com *Link to reach the place on map. |
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