Civil Police officers in the Federal District of Brazil seized about 8,000 pairs of counterfeit shoes estimated to be worth $228,500. Officers seized the fake shoes from a cargo truck that was transporting the footwear from Nova Serrana, Minas Gerais to a fair occurring in Taguatinga, Federal District. The driver of the cargo truck attempted to flee when he was approached by the police, who were plainclothes officers. The driver later claimed that he believed that he was going to be robbed since the officers were not wearing uniforms. Police arrested the driver and on charges of breaching trademark laws.
The threat of counterfeit production and exportation in Brazil is elevated, and the manufacture of fake apparel and footwear is known to occur in the area of Nova Serrana. According to the Brazilian Association for Combating Counterfeiting, over 60 percent of all counterfeit shoes sold in the country are produced domestically, more specifically in the cities of Nova Serrana, Minas Gerais, and Franca, Sao Paulo.
Authorities at the Port of Santos, Brazil have seized more than six tonnes of cocaine in 2016 so far, a record-breaking amount that already represents six times the amount of cocaine seized at the facility last year. Officials mostly seized the cocaine this year from sea container shipments of goods including agricultural products and construction materials intended for European countries. Customs officers attribute the higher volume of seizures to improved risk management and increased use of technology-based cargo scanning methods.