Fighting The Good Fight in Brazil

The Amazon rainforest, beautiful beaches, the song ‘Garota de Ipanema’, race car drivers and football players all come to mind when one thinks of Brazil. Unfortunately, the enormity and diversity of a country the size of Brazil, and the challenges that arise from trying to govern it, have given way to a country that is also known for high rates of crime and violence.

Rated the 23rd most violent country in the world, Brazil also figures in the top 30 of countries with high levels of trade in counterfeit goods, according to the Global Organised Crime Index for 2023 – given that violence and illicit trading are often willing bedmates.

Brazil estimates an annual loss of income due to the sale of counterfeit/contraband goods to be $78 billion per year, which represents over 12% of total counterfeits sold globally. The counterfeits sold in Brazil mainly consist of toys, medical products, pharmaceutical products, alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, perfumes and of course, cigarettes and other tobacco products.