The Civil Police’s Second DENARC precinct dismantled a group running a branded ‘gourmet’ trade in marijuana and skunk, including seed sales, in São Tomé das Letras.[1] The group sold marijuana seeds through Instagram as if it were an online store.[1] On Thursday 18 June 2020 officers arrested two 25-year-old men in flagrante at the place used for planting and for drying and crystallising the plant for sale.[1] One suspect, a São Paulo native, had already been sentenced to more than seven years for drug trafficking, while the Minas Gerais accomplice had previously been arrested for cannabis cultivation and had a criminal case under way.[1] Two other people who lived in another house on the same lot were taken to the station to give statements while police examined whether they were involved.[1]

Police said the seized seeds could plant two football fields and the seized plants could produce 300 to 4,000 kg of pressed marijuana.[1] The group grew more than 20 different seed types to make a purer, elite drug aimed at tourists from across Brazil.[1] The drug sold for R$30 to R$100 per gram, averaging R$30,000 to R$100,000 per kilo, with each planting seed averaging R$100.[1]

The online advertisements included photos and a description of the quality of the drugs.[2] The lead investigator said sales were not seeds alone but ‘gourmet’ marijuana such as skunk with higher THC content.[2] The suspects grew the drugs in nurseries set up inside their houses and ran a souvenir stall to identify interested tourists and offer them samples.[2] Police said the suspects’ tactic was to carry only a small quantity if approached so they could claim to be users.[2] The investigation lasted one month under delegate Rodolpho Tadeu Machado, and police said inquiries continued to find other participants and similar groups.[2]