Two Brazilians were detained in Saltos del Guairá, in the department of Canindeyú, with 44,900 reais that the National Police considers presumably counterfeit. The money was allegedly taken to local businesses for exchange, but the counterfeiting still must be confirmed by a forensic examination.
The detainees were identified as Vinicius Cita Rodríguez, 23, and Alexandre Godinho Junior, 26. Both live in Palotina, in the Brazilian state of Paraná. They were stopped at noon on Saturday, September 19, in the area of Pablo VI Street, after Comisaría Primera received information about the suspects’ movements.
During an inspection of a black Fiat Titano pickup truck with Brazilian license plate TAX9C44, officers found a bag containing 604 banknotes: 35 200-real notes, 189 100-real notes and 380 50-real notes. The amount corresponds to approximately G.52.98 million, based on the exchange rate used in the police report.
Officers also seized two Banco do Brasil checkbooks—one with a blank check and another with eight unfilled checks—an Ourocard Visa card in the name of one of the men, and two cellphones: a blue iPhone 17 and a white iPhone 12.
The case was referred to the National Police’s Department against Economic and Financial Punishable Offenses, which is responsible for the technical examination of the banknotes and for investigating the origin of the money. The investigation is being led by prosecutor Sonia Raquel Benítez of Saltos del Guairá’s Criminal Unit No. 1.
Rodríguez and Godinho remain detained at the police station at the disposal of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Until the forensic examination is completed, the banknotes are being treated as presumably counterfeit, and the investigation is expected to determine whether the two men were trying to put them into circulation and how the money entered the country.