Take a look at this picture snapped from the bridge over the Iguaçu river, which shows the contraband activity taking place in the area. These gentleman are smuggling cigarettes into Brazil in order to avoid the taxes in Brazil. The routine I observed is the following:
1. The top-of-the-bridge crew runs across the bridge from Ciudad de Este toward the Brazilian side carring home made backpacks carrying cartons upon cartons of cigarettes in a large cardboard box, additionally packaged in black plastic wrap.
3. The top-of the-bridge crew reaches a pre-existing breech in the 10 foot tall fence that lines the bridge, and over Brazilian soil, and they hurl the contents of the backpacks to the groud below, from a height of about 40 meters.
4. The under-the-bridge crew retreives the plastic covered boxes and remove the black plastic wrapping and place the cardboard boxes of cigarettes into homemade backpacks of their own, and they head quickly into the bushes.
5. The cigarettes will re-appear for sale in retail establishments across the adjacent countries, having paid no tax, and therefore, possibly being offered for a reduced price---------------------------
---------This photo does not really do justice to the subject, as it is really a long way down. Note how small the red fleck appears in the photo... this is the shirt of one of the 'ground crew' Also note all of the black plastic on the ground. The black plastic is the debris of lots and lots of makeshift packaging for contraband cigarettes.
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on Sep 20, 2002
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