Brazil’s Weight-Loss Drug Boom Fuels a Growing Black Market

Brazil’s growing demand for weight-loss drugs has created a lucrative market for smugglers. Customs agents have found injections hidden in shoe soles, vehicle compartments and even jars of doce de leite, a caramelized milk spread, as consumers turn to unofficial sellers for products that cost less than approved medicines.

The trade has expanded alongside demand for drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy, which belong to the GLP-1 class. Reuters reported that compounded and smuggled products account for about 51% of Brazil’s estimated US$7 billion weight-loss drug market.

Smugglers find unusual ways to move the drugs

Brazilian customs officials have intercepted weight-loss medicines arriving from Paraguay in increasingly unusual forms.

In April, agents searching a tourist bus found hundreds of vials containing tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro, concealed inside jars of dulce de leche. Other seizures have involved medicines hidden beneath shoe insoles, inside personal-care containers and in vehicle compartments.

The Federal Revenue Service seized more than 76,000 injection pens, vials and other weight-loss products containing substances such as semaglutide and tirzepatide during the first half of 2026, according to Brazilian customs data. The number was nearly three times the total seized during all of 2025.

The trade also reaches consumers through social media and other online channels. Individual travelers bring products across the border, while sellers distribute them inside Brazil.

Lower prices attract buyers

The price gap between approved medicines and unauthorized alternatives is substantial. A legitimate supply of Mounjaro or Wegovy can cost hundreds of dollars, depending on the product, dosage, and pharmacy. A Paraguayan product marketed as tirzepatide sells for about US$75 for a six-week supply.

Some buyers therefore turn to products sold outside pharmacies. But those products may come from diverted supplies, unauthorized manufacturers or counterfeiters, leaving consumers with fewer ways to verify their contents or production conditions.

The health risks extend beyond counterfeits

GLP-1 medicines require appropriate storage and handling. Smuggled injections can spend time outside controlled conditions during transport, while buyers may also use them without medical supervision.

Doctors described serious complications among patients who used weight-loss products obtained outside the formal health system. One patient required intensive care after using a product purchased in Paraguay and sold as tirzepatide. Another developed severe gastrointestinal symptoms after increasing the dose of a medicine brought from Paraguay.

Genuine medicines can also cause serious side effects. Mounjaro and Wegovy list acute pancreatitis among their potential risks, while incorrect dosing can produce additional complications.

Brazilian authorities have reported 83 deaths and more than 3,600 health complications associated with weight-loss products since 2018. The figures cover different products and circumstances and do not mean every case involved smuggled medicines.

Brazil tightens controls

Brazilian authorities have increased seizures at border crossings and strengthened cooperation with Paraguay.

Anvisa, Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency, reached an agreement with Paraguay’s health regulator, Dinavisa, to cooperate against unauthorized medicines. Brazilian regulators have also expanded the legal supply of weight-loss treatments.

Anvisa has approved additional medicines containing semaglutide, while Brazilian pharmaceutical companies are developing lower-cost alternatives. Reuters reported that Anvisa recently approved Ozivy, a domestic semaglutide product intended to broaden access to treatment.

Colombia sees counterfeit and informal sales

Colombia has also recorded problems involving falsified and informally sold GLP-1 medicines, although the documented pattern differs from Brazil’s cross-border trade.

INVIMA, Colombia’s drug regulator, has issued alerts over falsified Ozempic containing semaglutide. The agency traced specific counterfeit batches across the country in response to a global WHO alert on fake semaglutide.

In July 2026, Bogota’s health authorities warned about falsified and informally marketed semaglutide and tirzepatide. Officials pointed to self-medication and the use of these drugs without medical supervision as health risks.

Colombian authorities have identified social media, WhatsApp groups and informal online sellers as channels for these products. There is no comparable public record of large-scale border seizures of GLP-1 medicines in Colombia.

Brazil’s experience documents a thriving smuggling route from Paraguay, characterized by frequent customs busts and massive shipments of injectable medications. In Colombia, the evidence so far points mainly to counterfeit products and informal online distribution.