Operation Semilla against drug trafficking arrests 35 in 7 states.

At least 35 people have been arrested, accused of belonging to a gang based in São Paulo and specializing in international drug trafficking. Vehicles and approximately R$ 68 have already been seized.

Approximately 230 Federal Police agents are executing 54 temporary arrest warrants and 59 search and seizure warrants in the states of São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rondônia, Paraná, Mato Grosso, Ceará, and Goiânia. Bank accounts and financial investments linked to the suspects have also been frozen by the courts at the request of the Federal Police, in addition to the seizure of 20 properties, 15 vehicles, and one aircraft.

Operation Semilla, conducted by the Federal Police, was launched after a year-long investigation. The group was made up of Brazilian, South American, and European citizens and brought cocaine from Bolivia and marijuana from Paraguay into Brazil. The drugs were then sent to Europe and Africa, and also distributed within the country.

During the investigations, 70 people were arrested in the act of drug trafficking, one of whom is suspected of being a member of the Calabrian mafia in Italy. During this period, approximately 4.327 kilograms of cocaine, 5.210 kilograms of marijuana, more than one million reais in national and foreign currency, weapons, ammunition, about 48 vehicles and 1 aircraft were seized; these vehicles are believed to have been acquired with money from drug trafficking. A cocaine refining laboratory was dismantled in Barueri, in Greater São Paulo.

Operation White Gold

At least three planes were seized during Operation Ouro Branco, carried out by the Federal Police in three states of the country this Thursday, the 27th. According to the Federal Police, which did not disclose the number of arrests already made, the main targets are already in custody.

The operation aims to combat international drug trafficking and was launched in the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and São Paulo. Eight arrest warrants and eight search and seizure warrants are being executed in order to dismantle a criminal organization that smuggled narcotics into Brazil from Bolivia, supplying the southeastern region of the country.

The investigations lasted about a year, during which approximately 1.200 kg of cocaine base were seized and three arrests were made. According to the Federal Police, the gang used a farm located in the Pantanal region of the Ouro Branco do Sul district, in the municipality of Itiquira, Mato Grosso, as a base for receiving, transporting, and distributing the drug, giving the ongoing operation its name.