Paraguay incinerates record 36 tonnes of marijuana
Paraguay's anti-drug agency SENAD incinerated 36 tonnes of marijuana in Concepción on 17 September 2021, the country's largest drug burn, days after arresting the shipment's alleged owner in Operation Horse.
On 17 September 2021, agents of Senad, Paraguay’s anti-drug agency, incinerated
36 tonnes of marijuana at the Internal Defense Operations Command base in
Concepción department.[1]Senad called it the largest drug incineration ever
carried out in the country, beating a 2014 burn of 26 tonnes of drugs seized
in Capitán Bado, Amambay department.[1]
The armed forces’ Joint Task Force had found the drug on 23 July during a
routine flyover in Paso Barreto district, watching from a helicopter as people
loaded bags onto large trucks at a rural estate in a partly wooded area.[1]Service members arrested four people who were storing the shipment, which was
bound for Brazil, and part of it had already been loaded onto a truck.[1]
After intelligence work, Senad activated Operation Horse and on 16 September
carried out six raids in Pedro Juan Caballero, Horqueta and Concepción,
capturing the shipment’s owner and his main collaborators.[1]Senad named
the alleged ringleader as Rodrigo Florencio Pedrozo Agüero, alias Kavajú, who
was already under arrest.[1]
Photos and video
Bales of seized marijuana burning at the Concepción basePhoto details
Only one outlet's account of the incineration could be opened; it quotes SENAD and Paraguayan press directly.
The report counts the four people arrested at the July stash site plus the alleged owner; the number of collaborators captured in Operation Horse was not published.
No charges or trial outcome for the alleged owner were reported.
The same week SENAD seized more than 35,000 ecstasy pills at Asunción airport, a separate non-cannabis event left out here.
DNIT officers found about 15 kg of suspected marijuana hidden in the false bottom of a wooden shoe-cabinet parcel during express air-cargo checks at the DINAC depot on 13 November 2026. Senad took over the drug case, while telescopic sights and ammunition-reloading equipment from Miami parcels were referred to Digemabel.
SENAD and detector dogs seized 10 kg of marijuana hidden inside a welding machine in courier cargo at Silvio Pettirossi airport on 9 November 2026. The deteriorated load, sent from the United States with California-labelled packs, was placed under prosecutor María Irene Álvarez while investigations continue.
SENAD agents searched two rural properties at Maracana, Canindeyu, over the weekend and eliminated 1,668 kilos of marijuana, including 1,516 kilos of chopped cannabis and 172 kilos of pressed packs. Prosecutor Juan Benegas accompanied the operation, which investigators say targeted a stash feeding the Brazilian market.
Police in Curuguaty seized about 1,699.9 kg of marijuana, including 3 kg of skunk, from an abandoned white Toyota Hilux after a pursuit on the rural road between Araujo Cué and Acepar. No one was detained, and the load and vehicle were placed at the disposal of the competent authorities.
