Marcelo ToledoRibeirão Preto
A truck with Paraguayan license plates was abandoned on Tuesday morning (July 14) on the Friendship Bridge connecting Brazil and Paraguay, concealing a smuggled cargo worth about US$90,000. The driver was not found, and no arrests were made
The shipment, discovered by Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service, included hundreds of Paraguayan weight-loss medications hidden among bags of pesticides, as well as e-cigarettes, aesthetic medicine products, smartphones and auto parts. Officers found tirzepatide ampoules from brands including TG and Tirzec concealed inside a false compartment in the truck’s roof
Federal Revenue auditors and analysts involved in the seizure described the transport of “Paraguayan Mounjaro” alongside pesticides and other medicines as a “serious irregularity,” saying it violated health regulations and posed a potential public health risk. The truck and its cargo were taken to the Federal Revenue customs yard in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná state
Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa prohibits the import, sale and use of Paraguayan weight-loss pens, even if they are authorized by Dinavisa, Paraguay’s health authority. Tirzepatide must be refrigerated to remain effective, a requirement often ignored by smugglers, who typically hide the drugs near heat
More than 115,000 weight-loss pens have already been seized in the Foz do Iguaçu region this year, compared with 7,479 units last year. A month’s supply of 15 mg Mounjaro costs from R$3,499 (US$ 688) in Brazil, compared with about R$430 (US$ 86) at pharmacies in Ciudad del Este, where no prescription is required
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