On Thursday, May 1, the National Directorate of Drug Control (DNCD) of Dominican Republic reported the seizure of 3 thousand 4 packages of marijuana, hidden in cardboard boxes inside a container that came from Guatemala, in a port of Santo Domingo.
According to the authorities’ report, the seized cargo has a total weight of 6,740 pounds, which makes it, according to the DNCD, “the greatest volume seized in the history of the Dominican Republic.”
In that sense, the Minister of the Interior of Guatemala, Francisco Jiménez, at a press conference this Monday, May 5 indicated: “The statements in everything that refers to this case do not mention at any time, unlike the other experience we had, it is not mentioned that Guatemala was the point where the container was contaminated. This is essential to underline it.”
He added: “There are some that are passed as media that reported saying that there is a drug winery in the governorate and that the drug came from there, an irresponsible misinformation and, in addition, that it scratches in a criminal action from the moment it indicates a lie of these magnitudes.”
“You can imagine that in the governorate there was a winery precisely for the issue of drug deposit. I imagine that you as journalists would have already noticed,” he said.
The minister added that, due to the confiscation in the Dominican Republic, they have made the corresponding inquiry that allows us to understand if there was any situation in Guatemala.
“To this day we have not completed the report, I cannot give them too many details. We are working with the agencies dedicated to this issue here in Guatemala, but we are also in contact with the authorities of Panama and the Dominican Republic,” he said.
He added that they maintain communication with the Dominican Republic Prosecutor’s Office because they are “noticing that a lot of drug cargo is coming” from Central America to the Dominican Republic.
He affirmed that the containers, both at the entrance and at the output, have a weight certification, so, If the information certification information of how Guatemala was compared and how it reached the Dominican Republic, “there is a considerable difference of 2,857 kilos. It is practically the amount of marijuana that was confiscated. ”
He added that this shows that, when the container arrived in the Dominican Republic, the aforementioned amount of kilos was more, although he recalled that the container was in the port of Panama 21 days.
To read more: Dominican Republic explains how container drug cargo arrived from Guatemala
“This does not allow us to get a conclusion yet. Just tell them that this is what I can communicate. What one can support based on this information is that the almost exact weight of the confiscated was not in Guatemala. But, I repeat, this is a preliminary issue, I can’t give more details. We will present the report when we will have finished receiving the information from Panama and the Dominican Republic and the agencies, ”he said.
He added that, if the container had been contaminated in Guatemala, they will communicate it “with all transparency” and will take the corresponding measures.