It looked like a simple van, one of many that cross the 14, the “Mercosur route,” every day. The cargo manifest and documents indicated that the semi-trailer was carrying an important shipment of lumber with the city of Pehuajó in Buenos Aires as its final destination. But the mobile scanner discovered that there was something between the slats that didn’t belong. And Jackie, the gendarmerie sniffer dog, pointed her snout at seemingly rudimentary chests.
What followed was confirmation of what was suspected: dozens of perfectly stowed packages were hidden in the wooden boxes. There were more than seven tons of marijuana.
The proceedings came a few days after the seizure of 89 tonnes of cannabis in a convoy intercepted in Saltos de Guayra, Paraguay. It was the largest drug seizure in the history of the neighboring country, the historic cannabis producer that floods the Southern Cone’s markets.
This confiscation announced by the National Anti-Drug Secretariat (Senad) of Paraguay When “Operation Threshold” put military forces across the region on alert. The Guayra Falls lie on the border with Brazil, and from there the Paraná River continues its extensive course to feed the waterway.
The truth is that yesterday members of the “San José” detachment of the 8 “Alto Uruguay” squadron of the Gendarmerie, stationed at kilometer 785 of the National Road No. 14, stopped the movement of the truck that was transporting a load of wood Goods from the Missionary Mountain region.
They had a mobile scanner and the images showed: There was something that didn’t fit between the wood. Contrast adjustment – and experience with this type of analysis – allowed them to conclude that there were parcels that could be made of brick based on their color and density Cannabis sativa.
While some agents scrutinized the documents presented by the carrier, others went more intensive in inspecting the cargo. Jackie the dog entered the scene and began barking and pulling at his suspenders, a sure sign of the presence of narcotics.
Faced with this scenario, the gendarmes contacted the court and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Posadas. Due to the complexity of the search in the middle of the route, the truck was transported to Troop 8 on a semi-trailer with court approval.
They discovered that many of the seemingly simply stacked slats were nailed together. They were rectangular drawers. When the lids were removed, the illegal shipment was revealed: hundreds of “bricks” wrapped in beige nylon.
They were reportedly able to count 21 boxes containing 9,361 packages of “pressed” marijuana, the “star” product of Paraguay’s illegal economy. A total of 7,418,912 kilos of drugs.
Judge María Verónica Skanata then ordered the seizure of the drugs and the semi-trailer, as well as the preventive arrest of the driver of the vehicle, who was held incommunicado and who will be investigated in the next few hours.
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