Two More Charged in Yataity del Norte Armored Truck Robbery Carrying Cell Phones and Diet Pills

Prosecutors have charged two administrators of a scrapyard in San Lorenzo with criminal association in connection with a commando-style assault on an armored truck. The attack occurred on July 1 on Route PY08 in the municipality of Yataity del Norte, San Pedro department.

The targeted vehicle, operated by the security company Yrendagüe SA, was en route from Ciudad del Este to Pedro Juan Caballero. Although the truck was fired upon, its armor held, allowing the driver and guards to reach the Yataity del Norte police station for assistance. Surprisingly, the truck was not carrying cash but 59 cardboard boxes containing iPhone cell phones and Tirzepatide-based weight-loss medications.

These medications were being transported without the mandatory cold chain, and many had reportedly been smuggled into the country. Consequently, the cargo was seized and taken to the DNIT warehouse in Mariano Roque Alonso. A week later, this warehouse was itself targeted in another commando-style robbery.

Investigators tracked down four vehicles used in the Yataity del Norte assault, finding them abandoned and burned. Security camera footage led police to identify a white Toyota Wish used to transport some of the assailants away from the scene. This vehicle was seized on July 9 during raids in Itauguá, reportedly in the possession of Víctor Ramón Benítez Estigarribia, a 35-year-old suspect in the robbery.

Further investigation led to the arrest of the scrapyard administrators, Félix Eduardo Franco Cardozo, 43, and Eliana Antonella Martínez Torales, 25. They allegedly received the Toyota Wish as a pawn shortly before the Yataity del Norte assault. Unable to account for who they gave the vehicle to after receiving it, they became implicated in the case. Prosecutor Cristian González has requested pre-trial detention for both.