MPF-SP (Federal Public Prosecutor's Office of São Paulo) indicts 29 for international drug trafficking.
A group composed mostly of citizens from the former Republic of Yugoslavia was investigated for an operation that seized 620 kg of cocaine and approximately R$ 2 million; Brazil was a transit route for drugs through South America.
Claudio Julio Tognolli_247 - The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has indicted 29 people on charges of international drug trafficking and conspiracy to traffic drugs. Accused of forming a criminal organization, the group was mostly composed of citizens from the former Republic of Yugoslavia. The defendants were investigated in Operation Niva, by the Federal Police, which resulted in the seizure of a total of 620 kg of cocaine and approximately R$ 2 million resulting from the group's transactions.
The alleged criminal organization was based in São Paulo and, according to the MPF-SP (Federal Public Prosecutor's Office of São Paulo), “used Brazil as a transit route for cocaine shipments acquired in South American countries, mainly Bolivia, destined for Europe and South Africa. For this, it used cargo and tourist ships.” The MPF also states that of the 29 defendants, “six acted in the core group operating in Espírito Santo and five people in states in the north of the country.” The Federal Court separated the charges relating to these defendants and sent them to the corresponding states.
The investigation began based on information forwarded by the British agency Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). The information indicated an investigation carried out in Serbia, which aimed to "gather evidence to dismantle and identify the members of a criminal organization, mostly composed of citizens of the former Republic of Yugoslavia, dedicated to the practice of international drug trafficking to Europe," according to the MPF-SP (Federal Public Prosecutor's Office of São Paulo) – which stated that "the gang established itself in Brazil due to the country's strategic position, which allowed the acquisition of drugs in other South American countries to export the drugs to Europe through Brazilian ports."
Pescaria
The drugs were transported by ship crews, hidden in their clothing or backpacks, and also through a method known as "fishing," in which cocaine was taken in speedboats to very close to the anchored ship to then be "fished" inland by a crew member recruited by the gang. The accused maintained the company Kum Turismo, located in the Jardins neighborhood of São Paulo, as a front to mask the origin of the money, according to the indictment.
The complaint from the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office of São Paulo is categorical: “The members of the group, mostly Serbs, were wanted worldwide for their dangerousness and potential for crimes related to drug trafficking and have their names on Interpol's (International Criminal Police Organization) 'red notice' (wanted list). Another method used by the criminals operating in Espírito Santo was to conceal drugs in blocks of granite/marble to send to Europe. But an inspection by the Federal Police uncovered the scheme and found 179 packages of cocaine inside the rocks, totaling 158,7 kg of the drug.”
The northern core operated mainly in the state of Amazonas. 181 kg of the drug were seized from this group. The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office of São Paulo (MPF-SP) is asking the court to convict the defendants under articles 35 and 40 of Law No. 11.343/06, which deals with international drug trafficking, with penalties that can reach up to 13 years in prison.