Lourenço Melo
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - Illicit merchandise seized in the first half of this year by the Federal Revenue agency in Foz do Iguaçu, in the Triple Frontier (Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay) region of southern Brazil, is estimated to be worth US$ 27.4 million (R$ 64 million). In June alone, around US$ 4.7 million (R$ 11 million) were apprehended, 17% of the total for the first six months. Of this amount, US$ 850 thousand represent computer equipment, and another US$ 850 thousand, cigarette shipments. The rest is distributed among electronic devices, toys, and arms.

Over the course of the semester, 123 vehicles were impounded in the Triple Frontier region, considered the main gateway for contraband products from Paraguay. The operations are generally conducted with the participation of the Federal, Highway, and Military Police, as well as the Public Interest Defense Ministry, the Federal Revenue Secretariat informed.

Translation: David Silberstein