10 kg of marijuana found in welding machine at Asunción airport
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.
🇵🇾 Aeropuerto Internacional Silvio Pettirossi, Luque, Central · Paraguay
·
Cannabis
10 kg
Agencies
🇵🇾SENAD, National Directorate of Tax Revenue (DNIT)
Special agents of Paraguay’s National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD) and detector
dogs seized10 kg of marijuana in the cargo area of Silvio Pettirossi
International Airport.[1]A detector dog alerted officers to the suspect
welding equipment during routine cargo checks.[2]Prosecutor María Irene
Álvarez ordered the suspect parcel moved to the Permanent Attention Office for
official opening and inspection.[1]
The marijuana was hidden inside the metal structure of equipment presented as an
industrial welding machine.[1][3]Officers found the load divided into several
packages inside the welder, with labels referring to California.[1]The parcel
was reported as sent from Florida in the United States.[1]La Nación reported
the same interception and put the total at 10 kg, describing the parcel as an
industrial welding equipment.[4]
During the inspection officers noted deterioration and gas release consistent
with decomposition or fermentation from poor storage during transport.[1]Specialists warned that cannabis kept in such conditions breeds micro-organisms
such as fungi of the genus Aspergillus.[1]Inhaling the spores poses a
significant respiratory risk, especially for people with weakened immune
systems.[1]The case remains under investigation by the Public Ministry and
SENAD to identify those responsible for the load destined for the local market.[1][3]
Photos and video
The seized welding-machine parcel holding the 10 kg of marijuana. Photo: Gentileza via Diario HOY.Photo details
Prensa Mercosur and Hoy report the parcel as sent from Florida with inner packs labelled California, while La Nación says it arrived from the state of California; the report keeps both accounts without reconciling the origin.
No suspect, sender, recipient, arrest or charge was named in the accounts opened.
La Nación calls the material substance that would be marijuana (que sería marihuana); no laboratory confirmation, street value or court outcome was reported.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in La Nación (Paraguay): Special agents of Paraguay's National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD) and detector dogs seized 10 kg of marijuana in the cargo area of Silvio Pettirossi International Airport.
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.
Customs officers at Silvio Pettirossi airport found 6 kg of suspected marijuana hidden in two packs of paediatric wet wipes in a courier shipment from Miami on 30 October 2026. A second check turned up 46.5 kg of suspected ketamine in printer boxes, taking the total to 52.5 kg of suspected drugs; SENAD took over both cases.
Officers of Paraguay's National Directorate of Tax Revenue (DNIT) found 5.2 kg of suspected marijuana hidden in packages inside a toy box shipped from Miami at Silvio Pettirossi airport, and an AirTag tracker in the parcel began to sound as they handled it. The case passed to the anti-drug secretariat SENAD, and the substance still had to be tested to confirm it was marijuana.
