An Argentine citizen was sent to prison for smuggling a total of 400,000 pesos worth of medicines in the Uruguaya phenomenon that has alarmed the health system and the pharmaceutical sector due to the large exchange gap with Argentina.
According to the information provided by the National Customs Directorateon the 19th of this month in an operation – carried out by the Customs Response and Intelligence Group and with the collaboration of the Association of Interior Pharmacies – In the city of Atlántida, an Argentine citizen was arrested who was trying to smuggle medicines for a total amount of 400,000 Uruguayan pesos.
The detainee’s sales methods originated through social networks, with subsequent distribution to buyers in different departments of the country. The court determined 15 months in prison for the Argentine citizen, who will comply with substitute measures.
A growing problem
In the middle of this month, the Federation of Interior Doctors (FEMI) he pointed the problem that represents exchange difference with Argentina also for the medical sector Uruguay while more and more people cross the border for health reasons. Already the Pharmacy Center of Uruguay had warned about what exchange difference with Argentina was generating in the health sector in the country, when he warned about the entry of medicines illegally and for millions of dollars from the neighboring country.
The FEMI warned that the problem lies mainly in the people who cross the border for medical consultations since when these people return for treatment in the country, they do not have complete medical historynor information about medications or treatments received, as explained by FEMI.
The illegal drug market
On the other hand, the drug smuggling It is also a growing problem. Enrique Padialpresident of Pharmacy Center of Uruguay, He assured that the situation has been going on for some time. “At the beginning of the year there was a differential issue that was important, but that increased due to the rise of famous Dolar blue that did not stop rising and, obviously, all of this disrupted everything that is the operation of the Uruguayan pharmacy,” he explained to Subrayado.
He added that the same person who in Uruguay buy one or two medications, when traveling to Argentina brings treatment for the whole year. The phenomenon occurs mainly in users with chronic treatments.
According to Padial, there is also “the ghost traveler”, a person who travels to Argentina with a list of names of remedies you already have placed in Uruguay.
The Pharmacy Center pointed out that, in the month of January alone, Uruguayans spent 5 million dollars in Argentine pharmacies. Taking into account that, since May, the blue dollar has been increasing its price, the current values are estimated to be much higher.
Source: Ambito
