Paraguay department Ñeembucú has become a drug trafficking haven

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Without a permanent National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD) bureau and with only one anti-narcotics police officer to cover the whole of Ñeembucú, criminal organizations are gaining ground and establishing themselves.

According to Interim Prosecutor Milciades Ramos of the Prosecutor’s Office Specialized Unit for the Fight against Drug Trafficking in Ñeembucú, there are shortcomings in the fight against drug trafficking in the department. A permanent SENAD bureau has not been operational for approximately two years, Ramos said.

The bureau has reportedly ceased to operate due to a lack of funds, the prosecutor said. “There was a SENAD unit here in previous years, and through it we conducted investigations and seizures, but that was years ago, and now we no longer have it,” the prosecutor lamented.

In addition, there is only one anti-narcotics police officer assigned to the department. “The National Police has only one anti-narcotics police officer assigned here,” he said.

Drug seizures, mainly marijuana from Paraguay, have been a constant occurrence in Argentina. The Argentine government’s official website often posts reports on these seizures on the border with Paraguay. There is also an increasing number of people arrested, while on the Paraguayan side there are virtually none.

According to the prosecutor, this situation exposes shortcomings on the part of control agencies. “We are aware of the increase in drug shipments to Argentina because we see reports of seizures in the neighboring country. I recently saw it in the area of Itatí – province of Corrientes – that a large quantity was seized and they say that this occurred on the Paraguayan side,” Ramos said.

With respect to the work of the Paraguayan Coast Guard, he said that it always reports on alleged intelligence work, but to date he has seen no results. “We have contact with the Coast Guard and in turn it is in contact with its Argentine counterparts. It always reports on intelligence work, but so far we have virtually no results of these procedures. Now we learn from the other side that they are making arrests,” he said.

“Infrastructure and a SENAD bureau would be necessary in the area, because Ñeembucú is large,” the prosecutor said.