Paraguayan and Brazilian authorities managed to destroy at least 1,149 tons of marijuana at the end of a joint operation carried out in the border department of Amambay, informed Thursday the National Anti-Drug Secretariat (Senad).
According to the report, at the end of 12 days of intense air and land operations in wooded areas, 138 interconnected drug camps were dismantled, and 281 hectares of cannabis plantations were eradicated.
The operation, known as “New Alliance 37”, was carried out jointly by anti-drug agents from Senad and the Brazilian Federal Police, with the support of personnel from the Joint Task Force (FTC), the Paraguayan Air Force (FAP), and the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
The official report of the Paraguayan antinarcotics agency states that the operations took place mainly in rural settlements in Capitán Bado and Pedro Juan Caballero, bordering Ponta Porá, Brazil.
During the operations, 1,300 kilograms of cannabis seeds were taken out of circulation and 292,680 kilograms of chopped marijuana, and 13,920 kilograms of pressed marijuana.
In addition, it is estimated that the hectares of plantations destroyed are equivalent to 843,000 kilograms of the drug, so an estimated 1,149,000 kilograms were taken out of circulation in the regional market.
Most of the drug was destined for the Brazilian market. According to the price of the illicit substance in the neighboring country, the loss of profits for transnational organized crime is more than 172 million US dollars.
This was the second major operation of the year carried out jointly by Senad and the Brazilian Federal Police within the framework of a shared responsibility agreement between the two institutions.