In February and early March, the Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD) intensified operations against illegal cannabis crops.
Agents destroyed 57 tons of marijuana in three operations, preventing the drug from reaching neighboring countries and Europe.
On March 5, agents entered a forest area in Colonia Itakyry, Alto Paraná department. There, authorities found a narco-campsite and 11 hectares of marijuana crops.
“In total, we seized at least 33 tons of the drug,” SENAD said in a statement.
On March 2, during Operation San Rafael, agents destroyed 18 tons of marijuana from traffickers operating in nature reserves in Itapúa department.
“This operation has a direct impact on criminal organizations that operate in Argentina,” SENAD reported.
On February 19, agents entered a forest area in Colonia Yakare’i, Caaguazú department, where they discovered two plots of marijuana crops.
“As a result, we removed at least 6 tons of the drug from circulation,” SENAD said.
Rural sites of this kind also conceal marijuana production and storage centers, the Paraguayan website Megacadena reported.
To counter these activities, security forces have strengthened operations against the logistics of criminal groups.
On February 13, for example, SENAD special agents stationed in the Paraguayan Chaco found a clandestine airstrip and hangar, during Operation San Valentín.
The complex was located in Lagerenza’i, a town in Bahía Negra district, Alto Paraguay. According to the investigation, criminals dealt with cocaine at that location.
Agents destroyed the airstrip using heavy machinery. They also seized drums with aircraft fuel, vehicles, electric pumps, floodlights, solar panels to light the runway, and two shotguns.
“It is believed that the airstrip was strategic for international drug trafficking with aircraft from Bolivia, Peru, or Colombia,” the newspaper La Nación reported.
