Brazil News
| FORTALEZA, Brazil – Early Tuesday morning, Federal Police (PF) seized 50,000 ecstasy tablets at the Pinto Martins International Airport in Fortaleza. According to the PF, this is the largest ever seizure of the drug in the Northeast of the country.
50,000 Ecstasy Tabs (Photo: PF CE/G1 CE)
Federal agents saw evidence indicating the presence of organic material during a routine x-ray of a piece of luggage belonging to a Brazilian passenger who was arriving from Lisbon, the Portuguese capital. A manual search of the baggage revealed the capsules wrapped in carbon paper.
The passenger, suspected of international drug trafficking, according to federal police, was hired in early December, in Fortaleza, to transport the load. The order was made by a Brazilian and a Belgian national working together. The drug shipment originated in Brussels, Belgium. The suspect did not name the others involved in the crime.
The suspect was charged with international drug trafficking and faces, if convicted, five to 15 years in prison. The suspect is being held, pending justice, at the Federal Police jail in Ceara. Just last week, the border police of the European Union, Frontex, warned of a new trend of middle-class tourists from Brazil who engage in drug tourism.
Ecstasy, according to the PF, is mainly used at rave parties attended by the upper middle class, due to the high cost. In addition to this seizure, in the last week, PF at the airport seized 158 kg (348 lbs) of cocaine and 19 kg (42 lbs) of marijuana. The international airport in Fortaleza has the second highest number of cocaine seizures in Brazil.
Read also: More Articles from Brazil Dispatch
Source(s) for this article: G1 CE
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