HAVANA, Cuba, Jun 7 (ACN) The General Customs of the Republic (AGR) gives priority to the detection of trafficking of goods sent by illegal parcel delivery agencies from abroad, which total 113 so far this year, reported sources of the body.
José Luis Muñoz Toca, director of the Techniques department of Customs , said at a press conference that to date there have been four reports of smuggling associated with this phenomenon, and more than three tons of products of various types have been seized when tried to be brought into the country through these networks.
Muñoz Toca said that 29 U.S.-based agencies have been identified as operating in an unauthorized manner in the shipment of goods for third parties to the island through travelers who agree to bring them in exchange for payment or other kind of compensation.
Colonel Wiliam Pérez González, deputy chief of the AGR, added that these are agencies that do not have official contracts with Cuban companies authorized to carry out these operations.
Such offices, he said, use the passenger courier route, an action that poses a high risk because sometimes they are unaware of the contents of the packages and may be involved in cases of trafficking in drugs and other illegal materials.
He said that this factor generates the greatest acts of corruption in the AGR, in addition to showing features of organization and impunity, from the chains developed in the country for the commercialization of goods.
According to a list released by Customs, among the 20 illegal agencies established in the U.S. are XAEL Havana, Va Cuba, Cubamax Travel, Viajes Coppelia, Habana Air, Blue Cuba Travels and Central America Cargo.
According to the ARG on its website (aduana.gob.cu), despite repeated warnings, passengers continue to be found carrying prohibited items as part of their luggage without being aware of it, thereby committing violations or crimes punishable under current legislation.
He also insists that upon receiving the packages -sometimes already packed or shipped by the airline in the country of embarkation- the travelers do not know the nature of the products, and even the recipient in Cuba.
He warns that, since these are articles sent to third parties by agencies, "their importation acquires a commercial character", which is prohibited by the Cuban customs regulations in force and "subject to the administrative sanction of confiscation, if there is no more serious crime".
Also in October 2017, the aforementioned digital site updated the list of customers who have a parcel and service contract with the Palco Customs and Forwarding Agency, for the shipment of non-commercial cargo of licit trade and origin, as well as the shipping companies with which they have a contractual relationship.
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