On the afternoon of 3 November 2026, Brazil’s Federal Highway Police (PRF) arrested a driver on the BR-282 highway in Chapecó, in western Santa Catarina.[1] The driver was 24 years old and from the state of Paraná.[2] Officers took the man to the Federal Police to face suspected drug trafficking.[2]
Officers found 10 kg of skunk and 2.24 kg of hashish hidden in the boot of his car, a combined 12.24 kg of cannabis.[2] Skunk is a cannabis variety with a higher concentration of psychoactive substances, while hashish is a resin derived from the cannabis plant.[1] Officers also found 453 ecstasy tablets and 77 LSD doses in the same boot, synthetic drugs recorded here only to explain the mixed seizure.[1]
The stop began after the driver swerved abruptly into a fuel station on seeing a PRF patrol travelling in the opposite direction.[1] Officers then saw him trying to use his mobile phone quickly.[1] During the inspection, officers smelled a strong odour of cannabis coming from the car.[2] The driver told officers he was close to his delivery destination in Chapecó.[1] Brazilian law provides 5 to 15 years’ imprisonment plus a fine for drug trafficking.[1]
