Operation in Mato Grosso do Sul recovered more than 2,500 cocaine capsules and led to 37 arrests and the seizure of 313 kilograms of drugs.
Brazilian authorities arrested 28 Bolivian nationals carrying more than 2,500 cocaine capsules inside their bodies in what police described as the largest seizure of drug couriers of its kind in the history of Mato Grosso do Sul.
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The arrests took place along the BR-262 highway near Terenos during Operation Vastum, a police operation targeting clandestine buses traveling from Corumbá, on the Bolivian border, to São Paulo.
The 28 detainees were carrying an average of 90 capsules each, equivalent to about one kilogram of cocaine per person. One of them was found carrying 99 capsules.
The operation followed two months of intelligence work focused on clandestine buses entering Brazil from Corumbá. The Federal Highway Police (PRF) worked with the Federal Revenue Service, the Terenos Health Department and the National Land Transport Agency.
During roadside checks, officers identified passengers who appeared extremely nervous and gave conflicting explanations for their journeys. Medical examinations and imaging tests later confirmed that they were carrying the capsules inside their digestive systems.
All 28 detainees were taken to health facilities, where the drugs were safely removed, before being handed over to the Federal Police on charges of international drug trafficking. Police sources said the suspects planned to remove the drugs before reaching São Paulo.
La Policía Federal de Carreteras de Brasil detuvo a 28 personas de nacionalidad boliviana que viajaban en un autobús con destino a San Pablo llevando cápsulas de droga en el estómago. https://t.co/ovMdZQfumZ
— Opinión Bolivia (@Opinion_Bolivia) September 28, 2026
Text Reads: Brazil’s Federal Highway Police detained 28 people of Bolivian nationality who were traveling on a bus headed to São Paulo, carrying drug capsules in their stomachs.
The operation, initially scheduled to last two days, was ended after 12 hours because of the high number of arrests. Beyond the 28 people carrying drugs inside their bodies, officers arrested nine others and seized 313 kilograms of narcotics from vehicles and clandestine sites.
Among the additional seizures, a woman was stopped on another bus carrying 2.1 kilograms of cocaine attached to her underwear. Police canine units also found 76.9 kilograms of marijuana in the luggage of a couple traveling with a baby.
Officers separately found 1.97 kilograms of cocaine base concealed inside a prosthetic leg and in modified beverage cans belonging to another passenger.
In another case, police had to cut through the metal structure of a bus luggage compartment to reach a hidden space containing 81.9 kilograms of drugs. The vehicle’s three drivers were arrested.
A separate operation in Campo Grande led to the seizure of 104.09 kilograms of cocaine, 44 kilograms of cocaine base and 4.1 kilograms of hashish from a car. Two satellite internet antennas were also found in the vehicle, and both the driver and passenger were arrested.
Marcos Kley de Souza, head of the PRF station in Campo Grande, told local media that the detention of 28 people carrying drugs inside their bodies in a single operation was an absolute record for the agency in the region.
Police use the term “barrigueiros” to describe people who ingest narcotics to transport them. According to de Souza, the practice has been growing steadily in Mato Grosso do Sul, alongside an overall increase in criminal activity linked to cross-border drug trafficking.
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