Paraguayan authorities made historic drug seizures between 2018 and 2023, with 30,000 tons of marijuana and nearly14 tons of cocaine in more than 5,000 operations, Paraguay’s National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD) indicated in a statement.
“International cooperation was key to carrying out these actions in the fight against organized crime,” Francisco Ayala, SENAD’s director of Communications, told Diálogo.
Agents detained nearly 2,000 people linked to narcotrafficking and seized more than 1,000 vehicles, the Paraguayan Information Agency (IP) reported in a statement. The operations dealt a blow of $1.1 billion to the revenue sources of criminal organizations in Paraguay, given the amount of drugs as well as real and personal property authorities seized during this period.
“More than 80 percent of this economic loss is the result of international cooperation,” said Ayala. One of SENAD’s most important current ties is with Brazil’s Federal Police (PF). Both forces carry out regular operations to eradicate crops and dismantle criminal organizations that engage in money laundering in the border area.
In June, for example, SENAD and PF agents dismantled two drug depots and seized more than 4 tons of marijuana as part of Operation Safe Border [Operación Frontera Segura] VII. “Today’s [June 27] operation was the result of an agile exchange of information between institutions from both countries and allowed for the identification and location of another large drug storage and distribution depot in the city of Pedro Juan Caballero, department of Amambay, Paraguay,” the PF said in a statement.
“The Safe Border operations are a joint action strategy between the PF and SENAD and have for objective to continuously dismantle transnational criminal organizations,” the PF added. According to Ayala, cooperation with the PF has been ongoing for more than 14 years and has yielded great results. “But at the same time we also bet on strengthening cooperation with Uruguayan and Argentine authorities, mainly in investigations related to cocaine loads going through ports bound for Europe,” Ayala said.
A Ultranza PY
“Another example of cooperation is the permanent work that SENAD carries out with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the United States,” Ayala added. The cooperation with the DEA made it possible to carry out A Ultranza PY in 2022, which was the largest operation against organized crime and money laundering in Paraguay’s history.
“In this operation authorities carried out 120 procedures, with 24 detainees and 50 accused, and it meant more than $250 million in movable and immovable assets placed at the disposal of the Paraguayan State,” IP reported.
According to Ayala, SENAD also established a “fluid exchange of information” with Europol, the German Customs Police, and law enforcement agencies of countries such as Belgium, Spain, and Italy. “This permanent exchange has brought very encouraging results to Paraguay,” he said. “Of course, we are not forgetting about the ties with other organizations in the region, such as Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, with which working groups and permanent meetings have been held to strengthen cooperation,” Ayala added.
Customs control
In mid-July, Paraguayan and Uruguayan customs signed a cooperation agreement to improve security controls at their ports. “They did so after a shipment of 10 tons of cocaine was detected in the German port of Hamburg that came from Paraguayan territory and had passed through the port of Montevideo,” Argentine news site Infobae reported. “This would be the second largest cargo seized in all of Europe,” Paraguayan newspaper Última Hora reported.
The largest seizure occurred in February 2021, when German customs officials intercepted 16 tons in the port of Hamburg, German newspaper Bild reported. The agreement signed between Paraguay and Uruguay provides for the increased use of scanners to monitor ships leaving for Europe, according to Infobae.
