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LA PAZ, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Bolivian government stated Monday that it believes an arsenal of weapons seized last week was intended for criminal gangs in Brazil.
Bolivia's Interior Minister Carlos Romero told a press conference that the investigation is going and that the hypothesis is that the shipment was headed to Brazil.
"The arsenal of weapons seized in Bolivia is linked with drug cartels fighting an internal war in the neighboring country where there is a demand for weapons. We are checking information since the shipment's departure from its point of origin, Miami in the U.S.," said Romero.
Last week, the country's customs seized a cargo of 75 military-grade weapons, including semi-automatic rifles, machine guns, rifles, side-arms, and scopes with a range of up to 3,000 meters.
On Friday, Bolivia's customs chief Marlene Ardaya said that after leaving Miami, the container went through the Dominican Republic, Peru and Chile before entering Bolivia where it was stopped in the city of Santa Cruz.
According to Romero, this is not the first time Bolivian authorities have caught weapons being smuggled into Brazil and stated that government agents should carry out more controls on incoming cargo.
While several people have been arrested, the owner of the transportation company is still in the U.S., although he promised to present himself to Bolivian authorities on Tuesday, said the minister.
