Brazilian smugglers eye cigarettes from Suriname

The Brazilian police recently intercepted and seized a second shipment of cigarettes from Suriname. Reports indicate that 250 boxes that contained cigarettes were confiscated in

Pará. The Federal Police announced that the vessel came from Suriname and that it was inspected as part of the strict measures aimed against the spread of COVID-19.

The Brazilian authorities are baffled by the fact that the vessel managed to enter and leave Suriname without being detected espcecially given the fact that the three crew members had no identification papers on them. The crew members also did not have the proper registration papers for the ship. All three crew members have been arrested. Two of them are reportedly repeat offenders. In April the police spotted and intercepted a boat at the same location in the Arrozal Bay. The boat was smuggling 500 boxes that contained cigarettes from Suriname to Brazil. The crew members had vanished without a trace when the police boarded the ship. Meanwhile 4 suspect have already been arrested.