To date, the teams of officials from the Regional Customs of Talcahuano have seized a total of 152,930 kilograms of stolen copper, the estimated value of which amounts to 1.37 million dollars. The illicit shipments were detected hidden in containers that attempted to illegally leave the country through the ports of the Bio Bio Region.
“Within the framework of the constant analysis work of foreign trade operations carried out in the Bio Bio Region, the Regional Customs of Talcahuano has a specific focus on inspecting stolen copper, a task carried out jointly with the Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the Investigative Police (PDI), the Internal Revenue Service (SII) and other institutions,” communicated the National Customs Directorate.
The total shipment was seized based on investigations initiated with the background information provided by Customs or by cross-referencing information with the cases being developed by the other actors. So far, this involves the execution of 10 procedures between the end of 2024 and July 2025, whose operations took place in the ports of Lirquén, San Vicente and Coronel.
“This is a job where the intelligence and analysis capabilities of the Customs officials have been key, along with all the investigative coordination with the Regional Prosecutor’s Office and the Investigative Police, in addition to the work being developed under the umbrella of a technical table on cable theft that is annexed to the technical tables on organized crime,” explained the Director of the Regional Customs of Talcahuano, Katherine Ampuero.
“In the case of Customs, the focus is on the export processes of this metal, through the identification and strict monitoring of the operations and associated companies. The cases detected so far would involve multiple criminal offenses: smuggling, money laundering, illicit association, theft, and receiving stolen goods, among others,” she added.
In line with what was indicated by Customs, the objective of this work is to “advance in the eradication of the crime of copper theft, which is prioritized within the National Organized Crime Plan and which in recent years has seen a sustained increase affecting various connectivity companies (cable, telephony, etc.) throughout the country and also the State Railway Company (EFE)”.
“It is worth noting that a few weeks ago the Chamber of Deputies passed the law that toughens penalties for the theft, larceny, and receiving of cables, particularly those used in telecommunications and basic services. The rule also reinforces the prosecution of export fraud and customs counterfeiting, introducing reforms to the Customs Ordinance. Likewise, Customs is also providing the background information it manages to the Investigative Commission on Cable Theft of the Chamber of Deputies,” it added.
As a result of the above, Customs highlighted that “the work on plans, procedures, profiles, and alerts related to copper is related to the Interinstitutional Scrap Plan of Customs and involves the entire country”.
“In this context, the work of Customs has not been limited to inspection, but has evolved towards data-based models that have allowed the implementation of prevention strategies based on information analysis and the generation of timely alerts, in case risks are detected, which translates into the anticipation and timely interception of import or export cargo,” it concluded.
