September 1, 2026
Reading time • 5 min
Brazil and Paraguay Sign Agreement to Combat Medicine Smuggling at the Border
The document provides for the ongoing exchange of information between the regulatory agencies of both countries, with a primary focus on weight-loss pens, anabolic steroids, and peptides
Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) and Paraguay’s National Directorate of Health Surveillance (Dinavisa) have signed an agreement aimed at combating the smuggling and counterfeiting of medicines, cosmetics, food, and medical devices.
The agreement, signed on the 20th, is valid for five years and provides for the ongoing exchange of information between the regulatory agencies of both countries, particularly in border regions, such as the customs checkpoint at the International Friendship Bridge between Foz do Iguaçu and Ciudad del Este.
The goal is that, through joint actions, it will be possible to curb the illegal importation of pens and vials containing weight-loss drugs, anabolic steroids, peptides, and other similar products, which are often transported without any health controls or precautions, posing a significant risk to the population that may use these substances.
Although the actions need to be agreed upon and coordinated among the authorities, the new agreement between Brazil and Paraguay should facilitate operations such as the one carried out at the international level in early August, which resulted in the arrest of five people in Foz and two others in CDE, suspected of being part of a criminal network involved in the counterfeiting and illicit sale of weight-loss drugs, anabolic steroids, and other controlled substances.
On the Brazilian side, search and seizure warrants and preventive and temporary arrest warrants were also executed in other locations in Paraná, as well as in the Federal District, Goiás, Paraíba, Acre, and Minas Gerais, totaling more than 100 court orders.
The agreement between the law enforcement agencies comes amid a surge in seizures of smuggled weight-loss products in Brazil, particularly injectable pens containing semaglutide and tirzepatide, which largely originate from Paraguay without registration or oversight by Anvisa.
A Federal Police survey shows that, through June 2026 alone, 165,589 weight-loss products (including pens, ampoules, and vials) had already been seized—more than double the total recorded for the entire year of 2025, when seizures totaled 60,865 units. This represents a 172% increase.
The increase in seizures, on its own, does not allow for an estimate of the total size of the illegal market. Nevertheless, the scale of the quantities intercepted illustrates why the circulation of products between the two countries has become a major concern for health authorities.
When a medication enters the supply chain through clandestine channels, there are no longer any guarantees regarding its origin, composition, concentration, storage, transportation, or traceability. Information sharing between Anvisa and Dinavisa can enhance the ability to identify the origin of these products and track their movement.
In a statement, Dinavisa’s interim national director, Jorge Iliou Silvero, stated that “Brazil and Paraguay face common challenges in protecting public health” and emphasized that “working in partnership enhances regulatory trust, convergence, and the adoption of best practices.”
Joint actions will depend on specific plans
The signing of the agreement does not mean that joint operations will automatically take place. The document stipulates that when one of the authorities intends to carry out a joint action, it must notify the other party in advance and provide the necessary information to justify the initiative.
Cooperation activities must be agreed upon by both agencies and formalized through specific work plans. Implementation will also depend on the availability of human, material, and financial resources at each institution.
The agreement also preserves the right of Anvisa and Dinavisa to individually carry out the actions provided for in their own legislation. Furthermore, the Memorandum makes it clear that it does not create legally binding rights or obligations. It establishes a framework for cooperation that must be implemented in accordance with the laws and regulations of Brazil and Paraguay.
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