Two Paraguayans jailed over 139 kg of pressed marijuana at Rivera border checkpoint
Rivera police stopped a Paraguayan-registered pickup at the Manuel Díaz crossing between Rivera and Tacuarembó on 21 January 2024 and found 139 kilograms of pressed marijuana hidden in the vehicle. The two Paraguayan occupants, aged 33 and 51, were convicted and sentenced to two years and six months in prison.
🇺🇾 Pasaje de frontera Manuel Díaz (Ruta 5 km 463), límite entre Rivera y Tacuarembó, Uruguay
Rivera departmental police stopped a Paraguayan-registered pickup at the Manuel
Díaz border crossing between Rivera and Tacuarembó at about 19:00 on Sunday 21
January 2024.[1]The two occupants, Paraguayan men aged 33 and 51, were
detained.[1]Police said the pickup had entered Uruguay from Paraguay over the
Quaraí bridge in Artigas and then taken route 30 towards Montevideo, and that it
had not gone through the migration controls.[2]
The Interior Ministry put the haul at 139 kilograms of pressed marijuana.[1]Police said the drug was packed in 239 bricks placed above the engine and in the
double bottom of the pickup’s luggage compartment.[2]The Interior Ministry
said the men admitted under questioning that the load was to be handed over in
Playa Pascual, in San José department, and that they had skipped the migration
checkpoints for that reason.[1]Teledoce reported that Rivera police
headquarters said the drug came packed in 239 bricks above the engine and in the
double bottom of the luggage compartment of a Paraguayan-registered pickup.[3]Dnegocios, citing the Interior Ministry, reported the same stop at the Manuel
Díaz crossing and the same sentence of two years and six months for the two men.[4]
Both men were convicted as the perpetrators of possession, importation and
transport of prohibited narcotic substances.[1]Both were sentenced to two
years and six months in prison.[1]They were taken to the prosecutor’s office
for the legal proceedings, and the Rivera police account names prosecutor
Alejandra Domínguez on the case.[2]The Interior Ministry said the men had
avoided the migration checkpoints and were handed to the courts, which imposed
the sentence.[4]
Photos and video
Interior Ministry handout photo captioned 'Droga incautada', showing the pressed marijuana found in the pickup at the Manuel Díaz border crossing. Photo: Ministerio del InteriorPhoto details
Teledoceteledoce.comESCondenaron a los dos ciudadanos paraguayos que transportaban casi 140 kilos de marihuana en una camioneta
dnegociosdnegocios.uyESDetenidos dos ciudadanos paraguayos por contrabando de drogas
Open questions the AI reported
The submitted article names no sentence; the conviction and the two-and-a-half-year prison term come from the Interior Ministry statement and the outlets repeating it.
The news accounts give the weight as nearly 140 kilograms, while the Interior Ministry gives 139 kilograms of pressed marijuana; the report uses the ministry's figure and keeps 'casi 140' as the initial police account.
Accounts differ on timing: the Interior Ministry puts the stop at about 19:00 on Sunday 21 January, while El País and one dnegocios version describe it in the early hours of the 21st; 21 January is used as the incident date.
The Interior Ministry describes the hiding place as the double bottom of the pickup, while the submitted article and Teledoce also describe bricks above the engine.
The submitted article gives Montevideo as the destination; Playa Pascual, San José, comes from the men's statements as reported by the Interior Ministry.
Neither the men's names nor the court that sentenced them are given in the opened accounts.
Only Crónicas del Este names prosecutor Alejandra Domínguez on the case; the Interior Ministry statement names no prosecutor.
Maldonado police reported 90 anti-drug raids leading to 104 people charged or convicted and 47 drug sale points dismantled. The operations seized 30 kilograms of marijuana along with cocaine, vehicles, firearms and cash.
Police found 2.320 kilos of marijuana and other drugs, phones and routers near a module of Unit 4 of Uruguay's national rehabilitation institute, the former Comcar prison, in Montevideo on 23 August 2026. The Ministry of the Interior valued the combined haul at about US$330,000, and the case moved to a narcotics prosecutor investigating collusion by prison staff, soldiers and prisoners.
Anti-drug police raided a drug storage and processing residence in Maldonado Nuevo on 21 May 2026 under Operation Jacobo, seizing 7.5 kilograms of marijuana alongside 4.5 kilograms of cocaine. Officers also confiscated three modified Glock pistols, more than 550 rounds of ammunition and 140,000 Uruguayan pesos as prosecutors investigated the Maldonado and San Carlos network.
Operation Fortuna intercepted 11 postal shipments and seized about 63 kg of hashish sent from the United States, then police detained 13 people in raids across Montevideo, Canelones and Rocha. A court formalized proceedings against 12 detainees and ordered 120 days of preventive detention, while the remaining detainee was released.
