Comando Vermelho had a metallurgy team to manufacture rifles in São Paulo.
The structure operated under the guise of an aeronautical company and produced rifle parts using high-precision machinery.
247 - On August 21st, a Federal Police operation dismantled a sophisticated clandestine structure located in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, in the interior of São Paulo state, responsible for manufacturing parts for automatic rifles under the guise of a metallurgy and aeronautical parts company. The criminal scheme involved state-of-the-art industrial machinery and four suspects with direct links to criminal factions in Rio de Janeiro and other states.
According to the MetropolisThe gang operated from within the company. Kondor Fly Parts Industry and Trade of Aeronautical PartsThe establishment, located in the city's Industrial District, was owned by Gabriel Carvalho Belchior and used for the illegal production of high-caliber weapons. Belchior is a fugitive and is wanted by Interpol, suspected of having fled to the state of Florida in the United States.
Operation and seizures
The investigation began after federal agents observed suspicious movements of employees at night and the transport of heavy boxes to a property in the neighboring city of Americana. The location served as an assembly and storage point for the arsenal. During the operation, the Federal Police seized 35 sets of parts for AR-15 type rifles, two silencers, and dozens of boxes containing metal components.
The facility featured Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines and high-precision machining centers, commonly used in the aerospace industry. The equipment was employed to manufacture essential components for automatic weapons.
Scheme and division of tasks
According to the investigation, Anderson Custódio Gomes and Janderson Aparecido Ribeiro de Azevedo were arrested at the scene. Anderson worked as a CNC programmer, developing the manufacturing codes, while Janderson was a machine operator, responsible for producing and transporting the parts.
Wendel dos Santos Bastos was in charge of logistics and the purchase of metal supplies. He received R$ 69 per month for leasing the industrial facility and coordinating deliveries and suppliers. As of the last update in the legal proceedings, he remained free.
Delegate Jeferson Dessotti Cavalcante Di Schiavi, from the Federal Police of Campinas, led the operation with support from the 10th Battalion of Special Police Actions (Baep), responsible for the arrests in flagrante delicto.
Links to criminal factions
Investigations revealed that the gang sold weapons and parts to intermediaries in Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Ceará. Each rifle was sold for between R$ 8 and R$ 15, involving significant sums of money that were laundered through third-party accounts.
According to the Rio de Janeiro Federal Police, some of the weaponry was destined for Comando Vermelho, while documents from the São Paulo police point to references to Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) in seized project files.
The Federal Police in Rio de Janeiro are also investigating the activities of a Rio-based group responsible for receiving weapons produced in São Paulo and distributing them to factions and militias that are fighting for territory in various communities.
The operation exposed the high level of technical and organizational sophistication of criminal groups that use industrial infrastructure to expand arms trafficking in the country, utilizing technical knowledge and cutting-edge equipment for illicit purposes.
