SAG fines transporter for agricultural smuggling from Bolivia

The Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) of the Arica and Parinacota Region applied a fine of 100 UTM to a transporter who entered more than eleven tons of vegetable products, dairy, and ornamental plants from Bolivia, via an unauthorized crossing, without supporting documentation. The sanction was resolved in Exempt Res. No. 94/2026, dated January 27, 2026, in case file 2515584, and is notified in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile No. 44,574, dated Thursday, October 15, 2026, with official reference CVE 2884042.

Control on International Route 11-CH

The case originated from Police Report No. 241, dated October 29, 2025, from Carabineros de Chile, Arica Prefecture, 4th Chacalluta Police Station (F). The procedure was carried out during a vehicle checkpoint on International Route 11-CH, at kilometer 47, where a Volvo truck, model FH12, year 2013, white, license plate RKBG-37, driven by the accused, was inspected.

In the cargo area, boxes of fruits, tubers, and ornamental plant specimens were found. According to the record, the cargo had been entered from Bolivia through an unauthorized crossing and without supporting documentation.

Seized Products

The detail of the merchandise listed in the resolution is as follows:

• 7,500 kg of mangoes
• 2,500 kg of avocados
• 300 kg of potatoes
• 200 kg of passion fruit
• 200 kg of blueberries
• 150 kg of fresh cheese
• 80 kg of grapes
• 50 kg of lentils
• 50 kg of dragon fruit
• 50 kg of corn
• 25 kg of peaches
• 800 units of carnivorous plants

Exempt Res. No. 1,397, dated November 4, 2025, from the Regional Directorate, ordered the destruction of the products under Sanitary Order, which was carried out in the Destruction Act of November 6, 2025.

The Sanction and Infringed Regulations

The SAG considered that the accused infringed Decree Law 3,557, of 1981, from the Ministry of Agriculture, on Agricultural Protection, along with Exempt Resolution No. 3,815, of 2004, which establishes rules for the importation of regulated items or goods dangerous to plants, and Exempt Decree No. 510/2016, which authorizes ports for the importation of goods subject to service review.

DFL RRA No. 16, of 1963, on Animal Protection and Health; Exempt Resolution No. 2,224, dated April 12, 2021; and Exempt Resolution No. 4,027, of 2023, both from the National Directorate of SAG, were also invoked.

The resolution imposes a fine of 100 UTM, current as of the date of payment, payable at any SAG office nationwide. The offender may request a review of the resolution from the National Director within 10 business days from the date of notification. The document is signed by Agneta Hiche Meza, Acting Director of SAG for the Arica and Parinacota Region.

A pattern of border inspection

The same edition of the bulletin includes other sanctions from SAG in Arica and Parinacota for similar incidents. Among them, a fine of 75 UTM for Carlos Gutiérrez Calderón for transporting 450 sacks of potatoes and 29 boxes of mangoes entered through an unauthorized crossing from Bolivia (CVE 2884039), and a fine of 200 UTM for Nelson Evert Cachi Condori for potatoes, eggs, mangoes, and peanuts of Bolivian origin without supporting documentation (CVE 2884041).

The resolution confirms that phytosanitary control at the border crossings of the far north remains an active axis of SAG inspection, with sanctions combining fines in UTM and the immediate destruction of the merchandise. For border trade operators, the message is clear: entry through unauthorized crossings and without sanitary documentation exposes them to fines of up to 200 UTM and the total loss of the cargo.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,574, Thursday, October 15, 2026, Section II (Particular Norms), p. 1 (official reference: CVE 2884042).