On the dock at Navegantes, in the southern state of Santa Catarina, a truck rolls slowly toward a newly installed metal arch while a port worker watches closely, eyes on a screen that renders visible what the naked eye cannot see inside the cargo bed. It is one of the new artificial intelligence scanners bought by the Port of Navegantes, a 25 million reais investment according to the terminal, and a scene now repeating, with variations, at no fewer than seven Brazilian ports that have decided to respond to the advance of drug trafficking routes along the country's coastline.

According to a report published Wednesday by newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, the terminals say they have adopted specific measures to make it harder to smuggle narcotics hidden inside legitimate cargo. The changes come as international trafficking networks reorganize their routes in response to tighter inspections at the Port of Santos, historically the main departure point for cocaine bound for Europe. Among the new strategies is a shift from containers to pallets for fruit exports, a change that reduces the hiding spots traditionally used to conceal drugs.

The numbers help explain the urgency. Justice Ministry data cited in the report show cocaine seizures at Brazilian ports, vessels and rivers fell from 46 tons in 2021 to 15 tons in 2025. Investigators interviewed by Folha say the drop does not necessarily mean less trafficking, but rather a diversification of tactics: smaller, harder-to-detect shipments instead of large loads that would carry a bigger loss if seized. Another shift is the use of alternative vessels, such as fishing boats and sailboats, instead of large cargo ships.

Paranaguá and the spread to Santa Catarina

The Port of Paranaguá, in the state of Paraná and the largest in southern Brazil, told the newspaper its container terminal "is the most targeted by drug traffickers," but that measures adopted between 2019 and 2025, including sniffer dogs and a continuous monitoring system, cut seizures there by 85 percent. A historic route for international trafficking, Paranaguá is now seeing criminal activity spread to Santa Catarina as well, prompting the Port of Imbituba to purchase a remotely operated underwater drone. The equipment assists Brazil's Federal Police in searching and scanning ship hulls, an area difficult to inspect through conventional means and historically used to attach submerged drug packages.

Asked for comment, Brazil's federal tax and customs authority, the Receita Federal, said it does not disclose which terminals are considered priorities for inspection. Beyond being sensitive information, the agency said, "criminal organizations can simultaneously change ports of origin, maritime routes, destinations, cargo types, concealment methods and ways of accessing containers," which would make naming specific targets counterproductive to the fight against trafficking.

Back on the Navegantes dock, the truck finishes passing through the scanner's arch and continues toward the warehouses, its cargo bed never opened. That promise, seeing what is hidden without stopping the port's logistics, is what now drives billions in investment at ports across Brazil, a bet that more sophisticated technology and surveillance can achieve what traditional inspection alone no longer can.