Weight loss and diabetes medications are now one of the most smuggled contraband products in Brazil. Pharmaceuticals produced in neighboring Paraguay are being stolen and diverted into organized crime-controlled smuggling routes as social media drives spiking demand in Brazil. 

The amount of contraband weight loss medication seized by Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service (Receita Federal do Brasil – RFB) in the first half of the year was 300% more than all of 2025, according to official data obtained by InSight Crime. In June 2026 alone, the RFB seized over $2 million worth of pre-dosed, injectable weight loss pens.

“It’s a weird outlier because it’s a new substance, a new market, which is in a sense [still] being established,” Alan Towersey, who runs search and seizure operations for the RFB, told InSight Crime.

The RFB’s first recorded seizure of these medications, which include GLP-1 brands like Ozempic and Mounjaro and their generic substitutes, was in 2023, around the time Mounjaro, now the most sold brand in Brazil, was first approved in the country. The contraband continued to trickle in but then surged starting in January 2026. 

This rapid increase in the trafficking of these medications is unprecedented, driving medicines to the sixth spot for the most seized contraband goods in Brazil.

These medications are being diverted from legal production in Paraguay and moved along existing contraband routes to get to Brazil. Most seizures are now occurring in the Brazilian state of Paraná, along the Caipira Route, which leads to São Paulo, where there is a large local economy and the logistical infrastructure to forward the illicit goods around Brazil or internationally.

In Paraguay, armed robberies on pharmacies, distributors, warehouses, and transport vehicles carrying the generic version of Mounjaro, tirzepatide, shot up during 2026. Thieves have made off with up to $500,000 worth of product at a time, based on authorities’ estimate of resale values. 

Similar heists are also occurring in Brazil. Thefts and misappropriation of weight loss pens have been costing the country’s largest pharmacy chain around $900,000 (R$5 million) per month, according to Revista Piauí. Together with pharmaceuticals smuggled in from Paraguay, the drugs are eventually sold by doctors, hospital employees, beauty professionals, and influencers, in person or via WhatsApp or social media, as well as on e-commerce platforms such as Shopee or Mercado Libre.

The surge in use of these contraband GLP-1s represents a new threat to public health, according to experts. Even if the product is legally produced, there are severe risks. Without proper medical supervision, these medications can lead to gastrointestinal side effects, gallstones, and nutritional deficiencies, endocrinologist Dr. Barbara McGowan told InSight Crime. Improper storage can also lead to the active ingredient degrading, making dosage a crapshoot. And these medications are intended to be used over a lifetime, not as a quick weight loss fix. 

“All of these medical aspects, nutritional aspects, physical activity aspects need to be managed alongside the management of obesity,” she said.

Why Is It Happening?

Criminal networks are taking advantage of Paraguay’s looser regulations and established contraband routes to meet the demand driven by viral trends in Brazil.

Most brands of current weight loss medications are either still unlicensed or under patent in Brazil, while in Paraguay, many generic versions are legally manufactured. Paraguayan  authorities estimate a contraband dose goes for around $67 after it crosses the border to Brazil, where a weekly dose of legal Monjaro in pharmacies goes for $120 or higher.

The vast majority of contraband weight loss medication in Brazil is tirzepatide, which lacks a patent in Paraguay, allowing large-scale generic production. 

Demand is being driven by viral beauty ideals that are wildly popular on social media. Influencers and other social media users use their profiles to elaborate on their experiences with these products, and promote their use. Advertising for these medications is also rife, and influencers have even created parody songs referring to Mounjaro on social media. 

Authorities Eye Brazil’s Top Criminal Organizations

Decades of contraband smuggling from Paraguay to Brazil has crafted trafficking routes that now move smuggled medication from Paraguayan factories. The main route is controlled by Brazil’s largest criminal organization, the First Capital Command (Primeiro Comando da Capital – PCC), which often works as a criminal regulator and facilitator, even when not directly trafficking or selling an illicit good.

Paraguay’s police identified major robberies of the medications that followed PCC’s modus operandi, according to a report by Revista Piauí. However, Brazil’s Federal Police have yet to conclusively link contraband weight loss medications to any one gang, pointing out the decentralized nature of the trafficking. Paraguay’s National Anti-Drug Secretariat (Secretaría Nacional Antidrogas—SENAD) believes the PCC and the Red Command (Comando Vermelho—CV) may be behind the market, while also noting its decentralization.