Officers from Ciudad del Este's Comisaría Primera arrested three men and seized 15 kilos of liquid mercury during a preventive checkpoint on Avenida Monseñor Rodríguez, near the Intercity Bus Terminal. The operation was carried out by members of Móvil 13, led by senior non-commissioned officers Carlos González and José Sostoa.
The police intercepted a blue Toyota Sienta, license plate AAFF166, and, with the occupants' consent, searched the vehicle. Inside they found a one-liter plastic bottle containing a metallic liquid. Two of the passengers confirmed it was mercury.
The detainees were identified as Julio César Villalba Romero, 46, and Tomás Villalba, 54, both from Curuguaty, along with Crispín Rodas, 49, who lives in Itakyry and was driving the car. All three were taken to police headquarters, and the substance was placed at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor's Office.
The on-duty prosecutor, Estela Mary Ramírez, ordered that the suspects remain free subject to summons while the investigation continues. Chief Commissioner Francisco Rolón stated that the occupants said they were taking the material to Paso Yobái, in the Guairá department, and that authorities suspect the mercury entered the country via Bolivia.
According to Rolón, the seized product has an estimated value of 60 million guaraníes and was being transported without documentation authorizing its movement. Mercury, a highly toxic material subject to restricted trade, is frequently used in clandestine gold mining in Paso Yobái to separate particles of the precious metal from the soil, a practice that has already caused contamination of land, streams, and crops, as well as health problems for residents of the region.