In only a week, Paraguayan service members and police officers stopped the transit of more than 1 ton of drugs to neighboring countries.
On July 12, the Paraguayan Navy seized more than 300 kilograms of marijuana on the Paraná River. The drug was ready for shipment to Brazilian territory.
Service members first discovered a bag hidden among the rocks on the bank of the Paraná River, in the Remancito area. “The package contained 29 kg of pressed marijuana distributed in 42 bricks,” the Paraguayan Navy said in a press release.
The patrol later moved to the Topehyi area, in the border town of Presidente Franco. There, service members seized 279 kg of marijuana in 315 bricks hidden among the river weeds.
“There was a rowboat on site, like a canoe, apparently ready to take the drug to Brazil,” the Paraguayan Navy said.
Brazilian authorities intercepted a Paraguayan truck that transported 65 kg of cocaine on the Friendship Bridge, also on the border. This took place on July 9, during a joint operation with the Army, the Federal Highway Police, and the National Public Security Force of Brazil. “[The agents] found the drug hidden inside the truck cabin and the driver’s baggage,” the Brazilian website Tribuna Popular reported.
More than 700 kg of marijuana
On July 5, the Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD, in Spanish) seized 729 kg of marijuana inside a truck, hidden under bags of coal. The drug was bound for the Argentine market.
The operation took place on an access road to San Cosme y Damián district, in Itapúa department. The agents set up a checkpoint for people, vehicles, and cargo, where they detected the alleged coal distribution truck. Authorities detained the driver.
