BIKING PARAGUAYAN POT PEDDLERS NABBED IN BRAZIL

SAO PAULO, Brazil, July 10 (Reuters) - Brazilian police arrested two
Paraguayans caught smuggling 100 kilos (221 pounds) of marijuana into the
country on bicycles, a common occurrence in the southwest region, police
said on Tuesday.

The 18- and 24-year-old were arrested on Monday as they cycled to the city
of Dourados 120 kilometers (75 miles) inside Brazil after sneaking over the
border cross-country near the Paraguayan city of Pedro Juan Caballero, a
major marijuana trafficking route.

"They do the run at night and sleep hidden in jungle during the day," said
Dourados police chief Elasaro Moreira da Silva.

The biking smugglers, or "mules" as they are called by local police,
usually carry 40 to 50 kilos of dope each in tightly compressed bricks.
They travel in pairs but have been caught in groups as large as four, da
Silva said.

"They get here (Dourados) and they hand it over to people who have ordered
it who then sell it all over the country," he said. "It's normal here in
this region."

Last month Brazilian authorities torched 140 tons of drugs in what they
said was a world record destruction.