In an attempt to stem the flow of cocaine from Brazil to France, a joint operation between French and Brazilian police has been launched. Every passenger on three flights from Sao Paulo to Paris on Wednesday last week was subjected to a full body frisk, and had their carry on luggage as well as luggage stored in the hold, thoroughly inspected. Two Brazilian TAM flights coming from Paris to Sao Paolo were also searched, according to a French police liaison officer.

The unusual measures were implemented as an experiment to see whether the authorities could disrupt drug smuggling between Brazil and Europe. According to the liaison officer, Venezuela and Columbia are no longer the main suppliers of cocaine to France. Since 2008, Brazil is apparently the country exporting the most drugs to France.

In 2009, 250 drug mules were arrested at Charles de Gaulle Airport. According to reports, 60 of those mules had flown in from Brazil, the majority of whom had started their journey in Sao Paulo. This year, 30 smugglers have been caught, a third of whom came from Sao Paulo.

The French officer said that although the searches of the three aircraft, two of which were Air France jets and the other a KLM plane, had not revealed a large amount of narcotics being smuggled, four kilos of amphetamines were detected on another airplane. The officer said that it was just the initial move in the joint operation.

The liaison officer said that the Brazilian police would be assessing the operation and deciding whether to carry out more such searches in the future.