Brazil Federal Police seek international cocaine ring members
Brazil’s Federal Police and the Revenue Service on Thursday morning (Mar. 24) launched operations Retis and Spiderweb, targeting two criminal organizations investigated for trafficking cocaine from South America to Europe.
The dealers were found to send the drug to European countries through the Port of Paranaguá, in Paraná state, in a number of ways. Even divers were used to hide the cocaine in underwater compartments of ships.
Ring members also hid the drug in containers, unbeknownst to exporters, placing them in the refrigerating facilities or as part of legal cargoes of wood, orange juice, sugar, among others.
The police are serving 17 arrest warrants and 86 search and seizure orders at addresses linked to the investigated. The operations are being carried out in the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina, and São Paulo.
The authorities also ordered the sequestration of property and the blocking of assets and existing values in bank accounts and financial investments of the investigated—adding up to an estimated BRL 55 million.
