Brazilian Federal Police dismantle drug trafficking and money laundering network.

Operation Builder, conducted by the Federal Police (PF), aims to dismantle a drug trafficking network that distributed cocaine to the Brazilian Northeast; agents are simultaneously executing warrants in Recife, Fortaleza, João Pessoa, and Foz do Iguaçu (PR); investigations began in 2014 by the Drug Enforcement Division and, according to the police, the criminal organization was led by a man who used a false name and smuggled cocaine across the Brazil-Paraguay border, then transporting it to Recife, where the drug was distributed throughout the Northeast.

June 02, 2016, 14:59 pmUpdated May 28, 2019, 08:48 AM

Operation Builder, by the Federal Police (PF), aims to dismantle a drug trafficking network that distributed cocaine to the Brazilian Northeast; agents are simultaneously executing warrants in Recife, Fortaleza, João Pessoa, and Foz do Iguaçu (PR); investigations began in 2014 by the Drug Enforcement Division and, according to the police, the criminal organization was led by a man who used a false name and smuggled cocaine across the Brazil-Paraguay border, then transporting it to Recife, where the drug was distributed throughout the Northeast (Photo: Paulo Emílio).

Sumaia Villela, correspondent for Agência Brasil - A drug trafficking network that distributed cocaine to the Brazilian Northeast is the target of Operation Construtor, by the Federal Police (PF), launched this morning (2). The warrants are being served simultaneously in Recife, Fortaleza, João Pessoa and Foz do Iguaçu (PR).

The investigations began in 2014 by the Drug Enforcement Division. According to the police, the criminal organization was led by a man who used a false name and smuggled cocaine across the Brazil-Paraguay border, then transported it to Recife, where the drug was distributed to various cities in the Northeast.

According to the Federal Police, the group laundered drug trafficking money by acquiring vehicles, apartments, and land, where properties were built for resale. Hence the name of the operation: Builder.

There are six arrest warrants, four of them in Pernambuco. Three suspects are already in the Juiz Antônio Luiz Lins de Barros prison, in the Curado Complex, arrested in flagrante delicto with 24,4 kilos of cocaine in August 2014, in the municipality of Jaboatão dos Guararapes, when an alleged chemist from the gang came from Paraguay to improve the quality of the drug. The other is a contracted employee of the prison system, who is already at the Federal Police headquarters in Recife. The operation includes the summons of a lawyer (he will not be arrested) and searches at his home and law office.

In Ceará, two more arrest warrants are being served, one for a businessman identified by the Federal Police as the main leader of the organization and the other for his wife, in the Lagoa Redonda neighborhood of Fortaleza.

Some of the properties seized today are registered in his name. The suspect has already been arrested and indicted for homicide, which occurred in a car accident allegedly caused by his intoxication. The victim was eight months pregnant.

There are also five search and seizure warrants being executed – three in Pernambuco, one in Ceará, and one in Paraná – in addition to the seizure of three vehicles, the freezing of eight bank accounts belonging to individuals and legal entities, the seizure of eight properties (six in Ceará and two in Pernambuco), and the lifting of tax secrecy for four individuals and legal entities. All precautionary measures were issued by the 13th Federal Court of Pernambuco.

The members are being investigated for crimes of conspiracy and international drug trafficking, money laundering, and for forming or being part of a criminal organization. If convicted, the combined sentences could reach 65 years in prison.

Edition: Adjutant Grace