Money laundering, which became a criminal offense in 1998, is associated with narcotics trafficking, contraband, and other corruption. In November, a parliamentary investigative commission estimated annual money laundering in Brazil at 50 billion dollars, half of which it attributed to narcotics. Brazilian administration officials counter this assertion by maintaining that there is no accurate estimate of the level of money laundering in Brazil. Country Actions Against Drugs in 2000 Policy Initiatives. The DPF will also implement a tactical air patrol group to cover the entire region using fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft.
Brazil also continues to move ahead in counternarcotics judicial reform.
In September, a week-long drug courts seminar funded by the Embassy's Narcotics Affairs Section was held in Rio de Janeiro, attended by more than 50 participants from seven Brazilian states including state judges and police. According to reports, participants have begun to move ahead in the implementation of local drug courts to try drug-related offenses. The DPF made 1,240 narcotics-related arrests and seized four metric tons of cocaine and 50 kilograms of crack in 2000. The DPF seized four metric tons of cocaine in 2000. One drug laboratory was also dismantled.