Curitiba - Between January and July, the Brazilian IRS (Receita Federal) confiscated a total of US$25 million in goods on the Brazil-Paraguay border. The IRS regional superintendent, Luiz Bernardi, says the market value of the goods apprehended is triple that, or US$75 million.

Bernardi says that recently contraband from Paraguay has been reduced by 35%, due to the combined efforts of the IRS, government prosecutors, the Highway Patrol and other police forces.

He points out that this year 20,000 tons of illegal drugs from Paraguay, mostly marijuana, have been destroyed by authorities.

Last year, authorities apprehended 10,000 recordable CDs that entered the country illegally from Paraguay.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Lúcia Nórcio
Translator: Allen Bennett
08/16/2004