Containers of Bolivian hardwood that tested negative for drugs in the United States, India, China, Peru and France remain listed in Chilean prosecutors' case files against the exporters, according to a trade specialist who spoke to Wood Central off the record after tracing the shipments. U.S. authorities tested 16 40-foot containers that left Chile under controlled delivery and reported all of them negative, the specialist said.
The International Wood Products Association, which represents North American importers, told Chile's ambassador in Washington that U.S. authorities found negative results on containers flagged positive in Chile and has asked Chile to stop destroying seized loads while independent testing requests are pending.
A redacted letter from a U.S. importer's general counsel, obtained by Wood Central, describes a container of Bolivian-made cumaru decking shipped May 28 through Callao, Peru, and placed on customs hold June 4 at Chile's request. “All inspections came back negative, and the container was released” Aug. 19, the counsel wrote, adding that “a large percentage of the product [was] damaged during inspection drilling.” French authorities inspected the load on arrival in Martinique Sept. 18 and admitted it.
In July, Chilean officials claimed that 108 tons of cocaine and ketamine had been impregnated into 1,080 metric tons of timber. Bolivia disputed the findings as a false positive, and last week a judge in Arica halted the burning of the remaining wood pending a retest. Scott Oulton, former chief of forensics at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, argued in a report for the exporters that lab traces below 5% cannot support an estimate of 10% or more of the timber's weight.
Chile's Public Health Institute maintains the wood was impregnated; its environmental health chief, Boris Duffau, said in September an extraction method confirmed substances in more than 300 samples. The court was set to choose a laboratory for the retest Thursday.
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