Fortaleza has seen 7 buses set on fire in 72 hours.
Following the crimes, the Ceará State Public Security Secretariat (SSPDS) launched Operation "Safe Public Transportation," which will monitor 40 bus lines and 15 vans in the capital. To carry out the operation, some bus lines are operating with undercover agents among the passengers, and police presence on roads and routes has been reinforced. According to the police, the attacks were a form of retaliation by criminals following the death of a local drug trafficking leader last weekend.
247 - After the city of Fortaleza (CE) registered seven buses attacked and set on fire by criminals, five of them between last Sunday (16) and Monday (17), the Public Security Secretariat of Ceará (SSPDS) began the operation “Coletivo Seguro”, which will monitor 40 bus lines and 15 vans in the city. To carry out the scheme, some bus lines are operating with police officers infiltrated among the passengers. According to the police, the attacks would be related to the death of the drug trafficker Henrique de Sousa Monteiro, found dead on Sunday with signs of beating in a prison in Itaitinga.
The large number of buses set on fire in Fortaleza is reminiscent of attacks on buses in Greater São Paulo, which recorded, up to last Friday (14), 52 vehicles set on fire in 2014. In the capital of São Paulo, most cases are also attributed to retaliation by criminals against police actions.
“The insecurity begins when we leave home. You don't know when you'll return,” stated driver José Mesquita to the G1 Ceará news portal. Mesquita, who drives the Parangaba/Papicu line, said he lives "in a cruel emotional state," adding that he has already been robbed three times. Besides the fires, Fortaleza also has a rate of seven buses robbed per day, where 1.799 buses serve approximately 1 million passengers. In addition to harming the population, the attacks on Fortaleza's buses affect the fleet's operation due to the need for daily maintenance.
Since the start of the attacks, five people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the acts of vandalism, with two suspects being detained on Monday (17) and the others on Tuesday (18). Also on Tuesday, a sixth suspect involved in the attacks died during a confrontation with the police.