Brazil dismantles int’l drug trafficking ring

Brazil’s Federal Police today (Oct. 31) launched Operation Carcará, a crackdown on a criminal organization suspected of drug trafficking and money laundering. A total of 29 arrest and search and seizure warrants are being served in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás, Paraná, and São Paulo.

The ring is reported to be headquartered in Mato Grosso and São Paulo. The police further reported that the organization brought “high-purity” cocaine from Bolivia.

“The drug was conveyed on aircraft and was stored in the city of Colniza, Mato Grosso. Next, it was sent to São Paulo in trucks with hidden compartments, usually in fuel tanks,” the police declared.

Investigators also stated that ring members used satellite-based radars to monitor trucks loaded with drugs. One of the individuals arrested, who already answered to homicide charges, owned an aircraft and a pilot’s license.

Over half a ton of cocaine was seized. Furniture, vehicles, and airplanes belonging to the organization were also confiscated at the request of a court ruling.