Digemabel Identifies and Locates Businessman Who Threatened Truck Driver with Pistol

Paraguay’s General Directorate of War Materiel, known as Digemabel, identified and located a 68-year-old Brazilian businessman accused of pointing a pistol at a truck driver in Asunción.

The incident occurred on a street in the Mbocayaty neighborhood near St. Anne’s School. A bystander recorded the confrontation, which involved a Mercedes-Benz concrete mixer and a Toyota Fortuner. The Fortuner was blocking traffic, and the truck driver objected. The other driver then allegedly pointed a pistol at him and threatened to shoot.

The truck driver later filed a complaint at Asunción’s 10th police station. Digemabel opened an inquiry on its own initiative after the video spread on social media and clearly showed the use of a firearm.

Investigators read the Fortuner’s license plate in the video and found that the vehicle belonged to a company with three owners. They checked whether the owners had firearms registered with Digemabel and identified Luciano Pereira Castelo as one of them. Castelo has two registered pistols, including a 9 mm Tanfoglio P19 similar to the weapon seen in the footage.

Digemabel officers went to Castelo’s home in Lambaré. He reportedly expressed regret and offered to cooperate, handing over both firearms. Their licenses had expired, which also constitutes an administrative violation. The officers planned to send their findings to prosecutor María del Carmen Palazón Ambrasath, who is expected to summon Castelo to explain his conduct.