Federal Police fight criminal deforestation in the Amazon

Brazil’s Federal Police on Wednesday (Jun. 26) launched Operation Surtur, aimed at combating the criminal deforestation of over 15 thousand hectares in the rural area of Altamira, in the state of Pará, in the center of the Legal Amazon, a region made up of 772 municipalities in nine states. The deforested area is said to be equivalent to more than 15 thousand football fields.

In a statement, the police said that eight search and seizure warrants had been served in cities in the states of Pará and Mato Grosso, as well as orders to seize assets worth more than BRL 630 million, all issued by federal courts.

“During the investigations, it was identified that several nearby farms, registered under different people, had their forests intensely cleared, with the hallmarks of block deforestation, i.e. a common decision among the settlers of such areas, given the size and speed of the clearings,” the statement reads.