weed coffin - 11/10/02 02:00 AM
BRASILIA, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazilian police have seized two bogus funerary agents who transported a big batch of marijuana in a hearse, complete with a coffin, from the border town of Foz do Iguacu to the capital Brasilia.
A federal police spokesman said on Friday police found 198 pounds (90 kg) of the drug that the suspects -- a man and a woman -- were loading into the false bottom of the hearse under the coffin on Thursday during a stopover.
"That is a significant amount of weed, but what makes it unusual is, of course, the coffin, which also had traces of the drug," spokesman Casemiro da Silva told Reuters.
Police said they had evidence the couple had been running the self-styled funerary service for several months. The alleged traffickers may get between three and 15 years in jail if convicted.
Foz do Iguacu in southern Brazil lies on the border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, and is known for being a major route for marijuana smugglers.
A federal police spokesman said on Friday police found 198 pounds (90 kg) of the drug that the suspects -- a man and a woman -- were loading into the false bottom of the hearse under the coffin on Thursday during a stopover.
"That is a significant amount of weed, but what makes it unusual is, of course, the coffin, which also had traces of the drug," spokesman Casemiro da Silva told Reuters.
Police said they had evidence the couple had been running the self-styled funerary service for several months. The alleged traffickers may get between three and 15 years in jail if convicted.
Foz do Iguacu in southern Brazil lies on the border between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, and is known for being a major route for marijuana smugglers.