Suspect caught carrying 1,040 weight-loss medicine ampoules along clandestine route

A suspected smuggler tried to move 1,040 ampoules of weight-loss medicine through a clandestine route near Brazil’s Friendship Bridge before Federal Revenue agents detained him in Foz do Iguaçu.

Authorities said they detected a pattern used by smugglers to bypass border controls through unauthorized paths. The suspect allegedly used an opening cut into a fence to reach the parking area, then went down a ravine toward the export zone and crossed an external route to BR-277, where he handed the goods to a motorcyclist.

After monitoring the route, agents caught him carrying 260 boxes of tirzepatide. He tried to escape but was detained in the act and taken to the Federal Police. Customs officials seized the goods and transferred them to a Federal Revenue warehouse at the Friendship Bridge.

The agency reported a second seizure on Wednesday. During another inspection, officers stopped a motorcycle and found 160 ampoules of weight-loss medicines hidden under the seat and inside the motorcycle’s air-filter system. The Paraguayan driver was not detained, but the authorities will submit the relevant criminal-law reports to the competent authorities.

Smuggling of tirzepatide from Paraguay into Brazil through the Friendship Bridge has continued to rise, according to the figures cited by the customs agency. From May through December 2025, officials retained 7,479 units of weight-loss medicines. By Sept. 1, 2026, the figure had reached 159,306 units, an increase of about 2,030 percent compared with the earlier period.