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| FNCP investigates piracy in the border of Ponta Porã |
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The National Forum Against Piracy and Counterfeiting - FNCP, with the purpose of verifying the investigation developed by the Brazilian authorities, as well as the activities of the street merchants in the regions of the border, promoted an investigative trip to the city of Ponta Porã, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, limits with the Paraguayan city Pedro Juan Caballero. The information obtained in the survey will also be sent to Interpol, in order to be included in their worldwide data bank about piracy.
The work consisted in briefly explaining the activity developed in the region where apparently there are no limits, because the local inhabitants have Pedro Juan Caballero as an extension of their city, besides checking if there was a growth of traffic of people after the operation “Fronteira Blindada” in the region of Foz do Iguaçu.
We verified that the traffic of people has considerably increased, according to taxi drives and merchants from the region. He commerce in Pedro Juan Caballero doubled since the Federal Revenue intensified the inspection at “Ponte da Amizade”, region of Foz do Iguaçu.
As follows, we present some information obtained in or trip.
Historic
The limits of Ponta Porã with Pedro Juan Caballero became famous by the drug dealer, Fernandinho Beira-Mar, who was charged with drug trafficking, during his escape from justice in 1997, before being definitely captured in Colombia in 2001. Also, Fahd Jamil Georges, famous business from Ponta Porã, known as the trafficking and contraband King by the American government.
The city was one of the most important drug dealing and contraband points and famous by its illegal commerce of guns and cigarettes. Nowadays, its commerce is varied. Several stores before located in Ciudad del are now opening branches in Pedro Juan Caballero due to the high circulation of street merchants, that grows in the same proportion of inspections in the border of Foz do Iguaçu.
Border
Always that we mention the border of Brazil with any other country, specially considering Paraguay, we come up with the region of Foz do Iguaçu, which has a geographic barrier with a river separating the two countries and the traffic of people is only possible by “Ponte da Amizade”, which counts with the intense inspection of the Federal Revenue.
However, in the border of Ponta Porã, the situation is the opposite, because there is no geographic border, or even any kind of inspection by any country.
Ponta Porã inhabitants have Pedro Juan Caballero as an extension of their city. They also acquire vehicles with Paraguayan car plates which can only circulate in that country.
Commerce
The commerce in Pedro Juan Caballero is similar to the commerce in Ciudad del Este, however, the price of the products is around 20% more expensive in relation to the second city.
Besides that, the merchants who have bags on the streets offer several products that go from socks, underwear, perfums and products prohibited in Brazil, like the medicine Pramil (that has the same active principle of Viagra)and guns.
Aldo, after some minutes of talk, drugs like perfume squirter and marijuana, are easily offered.
Many Brazilians have stores in Paraguay. In some stores it is possible to acquire products using debit cards, it is, companies with CNPJ – National Register of Corporate Taxpayer’s from Brazil sell products irregularly in Paraguay.
It is possible to acquire products from such stores through Microsoft Messenger (MSN), and after the deposit in the current account of Brazilian banks the product may be sent to any place in Brazil. According to information of the merchants in Paraguay, the products are taken by “freighters”, it is, military police man who charge around from R$ 150,00 (one hundred and fifty reais), up to the city of Campo Grande, capital of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, where they deliver to all the country through mail.
Inspection
The inspection of the commerce in the border only happens on the road BR 463, by officials from the Federal road police.
During our trip only four (4) agents made the inspection on both sided of the road BR 463, and due to the low number of agents, the inspection is superficial, only searching for guns and drugs.
In the mail, according to information obtained by telephone with an agent from the Federal Revenue, only the packages originated from foreign countries are examined, the ones that go to the same country do not suffer any kind of inspection.
Curiosity
With the purpose of demonstrating that piracy results from other crimes or happens together with other crimes, we could check that it is possible to acquire a VOLKSWAGEN FOX 2006 car in Paraguay by U$ 5.000,00 (five thousand dollars).
However, it is clear that such vehicle was stolen in Brazil, so, it will not circulate in Brazil, but only in Paraguay and Ponta Porã. It is clear that the Paraguayan government acts for the legalization of vehicles stolen in Brazil.
in the Brazilian part of the border, we can see that some Paraguayan stores intensively invest in advertising. We can find their outdoors in the city of Dourados.
Yet, some companies located in Paraguay that wonder to advertise in Brazilian TV have problems with piracy. An example would be the speech of a merchant from West Garden mall who whished to advertise the shopping mall on TV, however, in the same place there is one of the biggest stores of pirate CDs and DVDs of the region, that is why the advertisement became impossible.
Conclusion
Before the whole problematic situation exposed, we believe that inspection must be reinforced in the region. As a start, we have to cause sensibility the authorities so that a solution is found to the inspection of the limits of Ponta Porã with Pedro Juan Caballero, by the improvement of the police on the roads, or by the creation of inspection barriers, checking all the vehicles and people who circulate by BR 463.
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