Brazilian tax authorities seize 645 kg of cocaine at a port in Santa Catarina.
Federal Revenue agents from the Customs Office of São Francisco do Sul (SC) seized approximately 645 kilos of a substance similar to cocaine; the drug was hidden among the cargo of a container that was to be loaded onto a ship departing this Wednesday, the 25th, from the Port of Itapoá, in northern Santa Catarina, bound for Belgium; the product was packaged in tablets spread across 24 bags.
Alex Rodrigues, from Agência Brasil - Federal Revenue agents from the Customs Office in São Francisco do Sul (SC) seized approximately 645 kilos of a substance similar to cocaine. The drug was hidden among the cargo of a container that was to be loaded onto a ship that would depart today (25), from the Port of Itapoá, in northern Santa Catarina, bound for Belgium.
The product was packaged in tablets spread across 24 bags. Customs surveillance teams found it during a routine operation, when they checked if the contents of 36 containers matched the export declarations. Upon opening a container carrying plywood to Europe, agents came across the bags containing a white powder resembling cocaine.
It is suspected that the substance was placed in the container without the knowledge of the owner of the timber shipment, but only the investigation being carried out by the Federal Police (PF) will identify those involved. All the suspected cargo is already in the possession of the PF.
The last drug seizure at the Port of Itapoá occurred in September 2016, when the Federal Revenue Service and the Federal Police found 40 kilos of cocaine hidden in a container. In other locations, large quantities of drugs have been seized by the Revenue Service and the Federal Police.
On the 18th of last month, at the Port of Santos (SP), 590 kilos of cocaine were found in a container with sacks of peanuts that was also destined for the Port of Antwerp, in Belgium.