Failures in Infarmed’s control would have allowed the diversion of medicinal marijuana for trafficking by a foreign criminal network. More than R$400,000 and 7.3 tons of marijuana seized.
An international criminal organization would have used weaknesses in Infarmed’s inspection system to divert tons of medicinal cannabis produced or moved in Portugal to the black market.
According to the , the Public Ministry charged 13 suspectsincluding foreign leaders of the group, a Portuguese businessman linked to the pharmaceutical sector and a lawyer, for crimes such as drug trafficking, criminal association and document forgery.
The case involves a total of 24 defendantsincluding national companies and their owners linked to the production, import and export of cannabis for medicinal purposes.
According to the accusation cited by the morning newspaper, the network was led by Dutch and Danish citizens who settled in Portugal in 2020, attracted by the medical cannabis market and the lack of effective control over administrative procedures.
Operation Erva Daninha mobilized around 300 inspectors and led to the seizure of more than R$400 thousand and 7.3 tons of marijuana. For the Public Ministry, the investigations confirmed that the organization took advantage of a system based, to a large extent, on the trust placed in the exporting companies themselves.
According to the accusation, Infarmed did not have sufficient human resources — both inspectors and technicians — to respond to the high number of requests created by the new legislation on medicinal cannabis. Until May 2025, there would be no systematic checks or direct contacts with third country authorities to validate import certificates presented by exporting companies.
It was in this context that the suspects would have created a business structure in Portugal. Through Linnaeuspharmawill have purchased, in 2021, the Sofex — Pharmaceuticalsa company with decades of experience in the manufacture of medicines, located in Massamá. The acquisition would serve to give credibility to operations and create a “mantle of legality” around criminal activity.
The network would also have resorted to Smart Naturea company holding a license to import and export medicinal cannabis. Your legal representative, Aldo Vidinhais named by the prosecution as a central figure in the scheme. The Public Ministry describes Vidinha as a recognized businessman in the pharmaceutical sector and knowledgeable about the regulatory procedures of the medicinal cannabis industry.
The scheme would involve the purchase of large quantities of cannabis flower from national producers, allegedly for legal export to countries in Europe and Africa. For this, the group used falsified import certificates, allegedly issued by Guinea-Bissau, Congo and Kenya. These documents were then presented to Infarmed, which, unaware of the falsity, issued export certificates that allowed the cargo to circulate.
According to the indictment, many of the documents were attributed to entities not recognized by local governments, signed by non-existent people or from countries where medical marijuana was illegal. In total, the organization would have moved, through Smart Nature, at least 6,751 kilos of cannabis flower under the appearance of medicinal purposes.
A significant part of this drug never reached its declared destinations, being diverted within European territory to the illicit market. The cannabis that arrived in African countries would, according to the Public Ministry, be repackaged and also introduced into illegal circuits.
Contacted by JN, Infarmed stated that, in 2025, after identifying situations of diversion of cannabis-based substances from the legal to the illegal circuit, it reinforced the control, inspection and review mechanisms of procedures. The medicines authority also said that legislative initiatives are being prepared to clarify and strengthen the legal framework applicable to activities subject to authorization.
