Source: Jornal Diário - 24/05/2012

Two carts full of smuggled cigarettes from Paraguay were apprehended by the Highway Police, at about 6:45 am yesterday, on the “Assis Chateaubriand” Highway, SP-425, in Regente Feijó. The drivers fled.

According to Lieutenant Rafael Fantini, from the Highway Police Base at Raposo Tavares (SP-270), the vehicles, one with Maduri (SP) and the other from Foz do Iguaçu (PR), did not respect the stop sign and followed. “When they realized they were being accompanied by the vehicles, they abandoned the trucks and fled, each one to one side,” he reported.
When the police went to inspect the vehicles, they located the cigarettes. It is estimated that 800 packs were in the trucks. “It is a common crime in the region, but in smaller quantities. They buy in Paraguay and distribute in large centers ”, analyzed the lieutenant.
The cops believe that possibly there would be a smaller car escorting him and he may have contributed to the criminals' escape.

The Águia helicopter, of the Military Police, was on the spot searching for the men, who will be framed for smuggling if captured.

The cargo and vehicles were sent to the Federal Police of Presidente Prudente.

Source: G1 (Rio de Janeiro - RJ) - 24/05/2012

According to the IRS, the amount exceeds the total seized in 2011.

Low prices have stimulated cigarette smuggling from Paraguay.

Data released by the Federal Revenue (RF) unit in Cascavel, in western Paraná, point out that in 2012, five million packs of cigarettes were seized in the region, the same amount seized throughout 2011. And the estimate, according to the IRS, is that only 5% of the contraband cigarette is barred in police inspections.

Since the beginning of May, the Brazilian cigarette can only be sold with a price above R $ 3. In contrast, the Paraguayan is sold at just over R $ 1. According to the Federal Revenue Officer, Paulo Bini, the price low has stimulated smuggling. "We estimate a very large increase in contraband itself, due to the change in the price of the tariffs imposed on cigarettes in the country," he says.

According to the Federal Highway Police (PRF), almost every day a cigarette smuggling cart is seized. “It is up to education and repression. Education not only of society that needs not to consume this product, which is a product of terrible quality and which does not raise a penny for public coffers, but also government education. Once he [government] increases the tax, he [government] facilitates the smuggler. It [government] facilitates the increase of the smuggler's profit ”, explains the regional director of the Brazilian Association for Combating Inspection, Luciano Barros.

Source: Folha de Londrina (Londrina - PR) - 23/05/2012

The six-meter fiber boat and 225 HP engine was loaded with approximately 40 boxes of cigarettes.

Before the approach of the federal police, the pilot landed on the Brazilian bank, close to the place known as Porto dos Padres, and fled through the riparian forest. Still on site, a Honda 125 motorcycle was used, used by freight forwarders.

The total value of the seizure is estimated at approximately R $ 60 thousand. The seized boat, motorcycle and cigarettes were sent to the Federal Revenue of Brazil in Foz do Iguaçu.

Source: Secretariat of Public Security - SP (São Paulo / SP) - 23/05/2012

2.400.000 packs of cigarettes were seized on Wednesday morning (23).

At around 7 am, military policemen from the 2nd Company of the 2nd Battalion Road were conducting an inspection on the Raposo Tavares Highway, near the city of Presidente Prudente. They distrusted the cargo trucks and told the drivers to stop.

When they found the packs, they warned the other teams along the highway. In all, six trucks were caught. The police seized the cigarettes and recorded the occurrence of contraband at the Federal Police Station of Presidente Prudente.

Military Police Social Communication Center

Source: G1 (Rio de Janeiro - RJ) - 23/05/2012

Merchandise was transported on a boat and was seized on Tuesday (22).

Boat pilot abandoned merchandise and vehicle when they saw police officers.

The Federal Police seized 20 packs of cigarettes during a smuggling crackdown, around 16 pm on Tuesday (22), on Lake Itaipu, in Itaipulândia, in western Paraná. The boat carrying the goods was also seized, in addition to a motorcycle used by the porters.

Upon noticing the approach of the federal police, the man who piloted the vessel docked on the Brazilian shore and fled through the woods, leaving the cigarette boxes behind. The products were sent to the IRS, in Foz do Iguaçu.