Federal Police free 19 Paraguayans from slave-like labor in Rio

Brazil’s Federal Police on Monday (Mar. 20) freed 19 Paraguayans who were working under slave-like conditions at a clandestine cigarette factory in the municipality of Duque de Caxias, in Greater Rio. The victims had arrived in the country blindfolded and were not aware which city they were in.

Operation Libertatis aimed to repress a criminal ring active in human trafficking, slave-like labor, commercial fraud, tax evasion, and crimes against consumer relations.

The plant has a large production capacity and distributes cigarettes throughout the state of Rio de Janeiro. The products are sold at prices well below the domestic market.

The agents reported that the Paraguayans were lodged in the factory and toiled 12 hours a day, seven days a week, in two shifts, including overnight, with no weekly rest. The facilities lacked minimum sanitary conditions and the laborers lived alongside animals, near open sewers and waste from the cigarette production. The workers were not paid for their services, their movement was restricted, and they were not provided with protective equipment.

The victims said they had been brought over from Paraguay with the promise of employment in clothing production, but were taken to the cigarette plant instead, where they were kept until their rescue on Monday. The workers also declared they had contact with no one but one masked person carrying a gun, who would bring them provisions.

Supported by labor prosecutors and the Federal Revenue Service, the crackdown included the execution of four search-and-seizure warrants across Duque de Caxias.

After being informed of the case, the Paraguayan Consulate in Rio stated they are not be able to make comments “due to protocol and security reasons.”