The Paso Bravo Operation seized 40,048 kilograms of pressed marijuana hidden in 23 underground storage sites in Paso Bravo National Park, in the department of Concepción, northern Paraguay. The operation ended this week and also led to the seizure of a 2019 Toyota Hilux SRV pickup truck without a license plate.
The shipment was divided into 1,327 packages and valued by authorities at about US$6 million, corresponding to the estimated loss for drug-trafficking organizations in the Paraguayan market. Because the area is near the border with Brazil, authorities say the drugs could reach a price two or three times higher after being transported into Brazilian territory.
The operation was carried out in the municipality of San Carlos del Apa, based on intelligence from the Military Intelligence Battalion (BIMI) and tactical action by Subarea No. 2 of the Northern Joint Task Force (FTC). The Internal Defense Operations Command (CODI), an Armed Forces unit that coordinates operations in areas facing criminal threats, took part in the coordination.
In addition to the hiding places, agents located a makeshift camp that, according to the authorities' assessment, could have been used by people responsible for guarding the shipment. The pickup truck found at the site may have been used in activities related to storing or transporting the marijuana.
The weighing and documentation of the material were carried out in the presence of prosecutor Pablo Zárate and officials from the National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD), the Paraguayan agency responsible for combating drug trafficking. CODI commander Major General Alberto Gaona said that teams continue to conduct observation missions in the park area.
The result places the Paso Bravo Operation among the largest recent marijuana seizures in northern Paraguay, both because of the volume taken out of circulation and because of the storage structure identified. Its location in a protected area near the border highlights the use of remote rural zones as stockpiling points before the drugs are sent to other markets.