Colombia’s taxation agency DIAN reports that around $66 million worth of contraband was seized coming into Colombia in the first trimester of 2010, a 9.8% increase on the same period in 2009.
Authorities made 10,337 apprehensions of merchandise in the first trimester of 2010, compared to 7,110 in the same period in 2009.
The city with the highest level of merchandise seizures was Buenaventura, located on the Pacific coast, with 12% of the total amount of apprehended goods. This was followed by Cali with 11.3%, Barranquilla with 10%, Medellin with 9.8%, Bogota with 8.4% and Cucuta with 7.1%.
The sectors with the highest amounts of seized contraband were textiles, footwear, car parts, musical instruments, glasses, cameras and watches.