Argentina’s National Gendarmerie (GNA, in Spanish), Naval Prefecture (PNA, in Spanish), and Federal Police (PFA, in Spanish) seized 8,748 kilograms of marijuana in the border provinces of Formosa, Misiones, and Corrientes, in seven operations carried out between July 20 and August 10, 2021.
On August 10, the PNA reported the seizure of 950 kg of marijuana near the Paraná River, in the El Dorado municipality, in northern Misiones province. The naval troops found the drug after following a boat that was nearing the Argentine riverbank.
On July 29, the GNA confirmed the seizure of 3,810 kg of marijuana at a farm in the Hipólito Yrigoyen municipality, Misiones province. During a patrol, two motorcyclists fled upon seeing the gendarmes, who searched the area and found the shipment.
On July 27, the GNA also reported the seizure of 1,782 kg of marijuana that a truck was carrying in the General Urquiza municipality, Misiones province. Criminals had hidden the drug among wooden posts.
That same day, the PNA seized 150 kg of marijuana on the Paraná River, in the Paso de la Patria municipality, Corrientes province. Service members found the shipment in bags that were scattered along the riverbank.
For its part, the PFA reported on July 26 about the seizure of 800 kg of marijuana that was being transported in Formosa province, in the country’s north. The shipment belonged to an organization that regularly moves drugs from San Juan province to Córdoba province for retail sale, the PFA said.
The PFA added that they had conducted eight raids, where they arrested seven gang members and seized five houses that criminals used for storing and selling the drugs.
Also on July 26, the Naval Prefecture reported the seizure of 256 kg of marijuana in a ship that had docked at Los Indios Natural Fishing Port, in the Corpus municipality, Misiones province.
Finally, the PNA confirmed that it seized 1,000 kg of marijuana in the Montecristo municipality, Misiones province, on July 20. The drug was in a truck traveling in the area of Bonito Natural Port, on the banks of the Paraná River.
According to geographical profiles developed by the international organization InSight Crime, which investigates organized crime in Latin America, Misiones province is the main point of entry for marijuana from Paraguay via the Paraná River.
The Corrientes province is considered a hub for marijuana trafficking, as well as a recruitment point for human trafficking victims who are then exploited in other parts of the country, InSight Crime says. Formosa province also serves as a transnational trafficking point for marijuana, but in much smaller quantities, the organization added.
