20 brands of illegal cigarettes are sold without hindrance

The illicit cigarette trade continues to take place in the country in the midst of dozens of people who go to the shops asking for "cheap cigarettes." A product that is available at retail in various places such as downtown San José, where of “smoke, smoke!” street vendors seek to capture the attention of those who have this vice. These are cigarette packs that entered Costa Rica through illegal means and make their way in a dark market that even requires the seller's trust with the buyer to be able to acquire them. Thus DIARIO EXTRA verified it on a tour, in which he acquired several of these boxes of illegal cigarettes that are sold at a price of ¢1,000 in most stores. through other merchandise the packs that were later sold to us. This occurred without a warning that the brands were regulated by the national authorities and without putting buts on the sale. Even the packs are of brands that are not regulated in Costa Rica and do not meet the standards required by national law, such as the pictograms and warnings that the Ministry of Health indicates should be placed, in accordance with Law 9,028 approved in 2012. Since that year there has been a consistent increase so that today four out of every ten cigarettes in the country are marketed by criminal gangs that do not pay taxes or comply with regulations. This crime occurs with the highest incidence in the province of San José, in the central canton, Alajuelita, Curridabat, Goicoechea and others. it deals with cigarettes that are manufactured in India, Korea and China, then imported into Panama, from where they are transported to Costa Rica through the Paso Canoas border. There are over 20 illegal brands, but Gold City, Pine, Ultima, Elephant, K&L, Royal are most easily found. However, Gold City packs represent more than 50% of the illegal cigarettes in our territory. Based on the current level of incidence, it is estimated that in the Costa Rican market there are close to one billion units of illegal cigarettes available, which would be equivalent to a fiscal impact of $55 million. The fight against this crime is mainly carried out by the Fiscal Control Police, the Border Police and the Public Force, authorities that during 2020 seized more than 85 million units of illegal cigarettes. These groups Police officers have seized approximately 31 million units so far in 2021, mostly in the border area with Panama.

• After the seizures and arrestsSmuggling cases are accused in a year

The Public Prosecutor's Office processes criminal complaints in cases where the minimum of $5,000 established in Article 211 of the General Customs Law is achieved. El Periódico del Pueblo spoke with Christian Quirós, from the Deputy Prosecutor for Crimes Economic, Tax and Customs, who explained that the cases are presented after the assessment that Customs issues and the technical analysis that they carry out. It is a crime whose recidivism does not have an aggravating sanction, since it is not defined in this way in the law Rather, they are handled as different cases for the same person. “We do not have a case of a person who has been convicted on several occasions for the same crime of smuggling. If we talk about people who are regularly engaging in the crime of smuggling, the issue is by the Fiscal Control Police (PCF), who have their investigation department, they would have to do intelligence work and present a solid case to the Public Ministry in relation to this person who has been surprised in several events," he added. The prosecutor explained that the Public Ministry does not find out about administrative cases, so it is the PCF that must make the report when a person is a target for the authorities for this crime. Quirós indicated that in smuggling crimes, as in other types, priority is given, with criminal cases involving detainees being the first to be dealt with. "Causes involving the elderly and old cases that we call backlog cases, which are those that have been in the Public Ministry for more than three years. However, for the matter of smuggling, it is a figure that is quite expeditious for the amount of work that is required, basically us as the Public Prosecutor in cases of smuggling with the assessments and all the evidence that the Police have to send us. of Fiscal Control, as well as the probative input that we have to request, we are formulating the accusations within a year approximately from the date of the confiscation,” he explained. preventive, whose process lasted less than a year, after the subject preferred to undergo an abbreviated.

• In the transfer of cigarettesCriminals take advantage of the opportunity economy

Most of the seizures occur in border areas, which is why the work of the Border Police has been crucial to combat this scourge, along with the actions issued by the Fiscal Control Police.Eric Lacayo, director of The Border Police explained to DIARIO EXTRA that they carry out the majority of seizures at roadblocks thanks to a series of profiles that they have managed to identify. confidential information from any person or source of information that allows us to find places where they are stored, or are preparing to leave, or trucks that already come with illegal cargo," he said. The police chief stressed that the people who have been surprised in this illicit do not have a common characteristic among themselves, on the contrary, in some cases it is about locals who saw an opportunity in the transfer of these cigarettes. "We are more of actors on the ground, we do not carry that conductive thread of an investigation as the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) or the Fiscal Control Police can do, we obey more to circumstances specific to the operation on the ground”, he added. In the case of Borders, he mentioned that the majority of detainees have been Costa Ricans between the ages of 35 and 40. This police force seized a total of 41,143 cigarettes in 2019, in 2020 there were 135,857 and, until August 2021, they accounted for 647,012. Lacayo pointed out that the notorious increase would be due to the economic situation that the country is going through. country, that is to say, they maintain an economy of opportunity, as well as an increase in the police presence in the border sectors that has allowed for more cigarette transfers, a situation to which more attention has been paid. a criminal characterization, only the cigarettes is a form of criminal structure that is racking the object. There is definitely an organized criminal group that transfers the resource from the country of origin that we have not properly defined and that implies transfer across both borders, because the transfer is for national consumption, so what happens at the border is a situation merely of opportunity for the organized structure that transfers and that has the capital to carry out the illegal transfer of cigarettes”, he stated. Lacayo noted that those who are dedicated to this illegal activity could at some point transfer other products such as liquor and drugs.

• Police have seized 39 million cigarettesPCF works to beat up contraband

In the case of the Fiscal Control Police (PCF), illegal cigarettes are frequently confiscated merchandise and in large quantities. According to Melissa Rodríguez, deputy director of the PCF, between 2019 and 2020 the confiscation figure is around 60 million, while in 2021 they have seized approximately 39 million. "These cigarettes are counted in units due to a merchandise valuation issue, which is where we technically have to bear the issue of administrative or judicial accusation depending on the amount" , he said. The crime of smuggling is typified in article 211 of the General Customs Law and has three important particularities that include a prison sentence. Smuggling as a crime has a penalty of three to five years, while in its aggravated modality the sentence goes from five to fifteen, an aggravating circumstance can be a double lining in a means of transport. In both cases, the confiscation must have an amount of $5,000. In addition, there is the divided crime that consists of interventions where the amount does not allow to configure the crime. However, if a person commits an infraction and accumulates several events in a calendar year, the law provides the possibility of adding the amounts to try to achieve $5,000, which would be considered a crime and not an administrative case. “People visualized that if he brought little then he would not go through an administrative infraction, this remains in an administrative process at the level of the General Directorate of Customs, on the other hand, with this fractional crime it is interpreted that these behaviors repeatedly in a person, who in more than once it is detected that it is transporting contraband merchandise, it could be subject to a criminal accusation”, he explained. Rodríguez noted that the police carry out two actions, mainly. It is about the obligation to report an alleged crime and, from a technical point of view, they must provide support to the Prosecutor's Office so that the case achieves the accusation, trial and sentence. The deputy director of the PCF expressed that the confiscated merchandise must be destroy, that is, people do not have the possibility of recovering the items as occurs with other merchandise such as household appliances or clothing. "In matters of cigarettes, yes or yes they have to go through a destruction process," he stressed. He added that the profit that as authorities have when seizing merchandise in large volumes is to prevent damage to the treasury and prevent these items from reaching the hands of Costa Ricans. For example, an illegal shipment of 14 million cigarettes represents approximately ¢390 million in taxes that are not perceive.