Source: Estradas - RJ - 15/10/2009

The Federal Highway Police (PRF) carried out the largest seizure of smuggled drugs in history in Paraná. A truck with about 183 thousand units of medicines was approached last Tuesday night, during routine inspection at kilometer 642 of BR-277, in the municipality of Céu Azul, in the west of the state. The cargo left Foz do Iguaçu, bound for Salvador (BA). The driver, a 50-year-old Bahian, was arrested.

The Mercedes Benz truck, with license plates from Feira de Santana (BA), had a false compartment on the roof, where the drugs, many of them forbidden in Brazil, were hidden. Among the cargo, there were remedies for weight loss and rheumatism, sexual stimulants and abortions.

The truck driver told the police that he received the vehicle at a gas station in Foz do Iguaçu and would receive R $ 2 to transport the cargo to the Bahian capital.

The police estimate that smuggling could yield up to R $ 2 million on the black market. The driver was caught in the act and sent to the Federal Police station in Foz do Iguaçu.

According to the PRF, the seizure is the largest ever in Paraná and one of the largest in the country. Last year, about 500 units of smuggled drugs were seized by the PRF in Brazil. In Paraná, there were 123 thousand. This year 122 thousand units had already been seized.