77 thousand packages of cigarettes are seized in MS, the DOF’s largest seizure of the year

The DOF (Department of Border Operations) closed a warehouse and seized more than 77 thousand packages of cigarettes in Itaquiraí, a city 405 kilometers from Campo Grande, this Tuesday (23), the unit’s biggest seizure of the year. According to the police, more than 77 thousand packages of cigarettes smuggled from Paraguay, two trucks, a bus and a passenger vehicle were seized in the action. A 43-year-old man was arrested red handed.

According to the police, the military was patrolling the Santo Antônio Settlement, a rural area of ​​the municipality, when two men, who were in a Fiat Uno, fled when they noticed the presence of the police. During investigations, police arrested a third person, who identified himself as the owner of the residence.

Still searching for the suspects, the police found two warehouses, with several boxes of cigarettes smuggled from Paraguay. When questioned, the resident said that he used the place to store contraband and dispatch it in vehicles that were on site and that for the service he would receive two thousand reais per car.

In total, 77,500 packets of cigarettes were seized; a Mercedes-Benz L1516 truck; a Mercedes-Benz L1313 truck; and, a minibus. The seized materials valued at approximately R$4.1 million were sent to the Mundo Novo Federal Revenue Service. The man, arrested in the act, was taken to the Naviraí Federal Police Station.