RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian police on Wednesday announced the capture of 648 kg of marijuana in the southern state of Parana.

    According to the police, the drugs were found in the fake bottom of a truck wrapped in 607 tablets when a routine inspection was conducted near the municipality of Guarapuava on Tuesday morning.

    The truck driver, a 28-year-old man, admitted that he was hired to transport the drugs to Rio de Janeiro and would receive 5,000 reais (2,857 U.S. dollars) for the job.

    The driver was charged with drug trafficking; if convicted, he could be sentenced to five to 15 years in jail.

    This was not the first large seizure of marijuana in Parana state. On Monday, 1.2 tons of marijuana were seized in a mega-operation against drug trafficking in the same state.

    Last Saturday, 720 kg of marijuana were found in gas cylinders in the municipality of Cruzeiro do Oeste.

    Parana state is one of the main routes used by drug traffickers in Brazil, as it borders both Argentina and Paraguay, connecting the neighboring countries to the largest drug markets in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.