Federal Police and Paraná Military Police officers seized 1,071 kilograms of marijuana in a rural area of Santa Helena, western Paraná, on the night of Monday 9 November 2026.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] The Brazilian surveillance area lay across the Paraná River from Puerto Indio in Mbaracayú district, Alto Paraná, Paraguay.[11][8] Paraná Military Police said teams from its Border Police Battalion (BPFRON) and the Federal Police’s Special Maritime Police Unit (NEPOM) carried out the operation during an inspection near Porto da Curva, in the Vila Celeste district.[12][7] Suspects on the riverbank fled into woodland when the security forces closed in and could not be found.[1][3][11][7][8][10] Federal Police teams conducting border patrol duties spotted a craft travelling at high speed from Paraguay towards the Brazilian shore at about 22:00.[1][11][6][8][10] The roughly five-metre boat had left Paraguay and was approaching a clandestine port on Brazilian territory, Paraná Military Police said.[12]

Following the suspicious movement, a boat-borne police unit was deployed to intercept the incoming craft.[1][2][4][5][6][7][9][10] As officers approached the spot where the vessel had moored, individuals on the bank and along a forest track fled, abandoning the vessel.[1][6][10]

A search of the craft uncovered approximately 60 bales of pressed marijuana, amounting to 1,071 kilograms of the drug.[1][2][3][4][5][11][7][8][9][10] Paraná Military Police estimated the seizure represented a loss of R$2.2 million.[12][7] Police also seized the fibre vessel itself, which was equipped with a 200-horsepower outboard motor.[1][12][6][8][10] The seized marijuana and the boat were delivered to the Federal Police station in Foz do Iguaçu for legal procedures.[1][2][3][4][12][5][11][6][7][8][9][10]