Who is the former federal police officer identified as the leader of the scheme that supplied the Comando Vermelho (Red Command)?

247 - A former Federal Police (PF) agent, who for years worked within the institution responsible for combating organized crime, is now being pointed to as the mastermind behind one of the largest international arms trafficking schemes in the country. Josias João do Nascimento, whose retirement was published in... Official Gazette In January 2019, he is the main target of the operation launched by the Federal Police on the morning of this Thursday (20). According to investigations, he would be the true head of the millionaire scheme that supplied Comando Vermelho (CV) with heavy weaponry.

According to information obtained by the MetropolisNascimento held a commanding position above Frederick Barbieri, the criminal known as the "Lord of Arms," ​​who was convicted in the United States for trafficking rifles. The scheme, which involved at least R$ 50 million, was based on sending approximately 2 rifles from Miami, in the United States, to communities controlled by the CV (Comando Vermelho) in Rio de Janeiro.

Thursday's operation, named Cash CourierThe operation resulted in the execution of 14 search and seizure warrants at luxury addresses in Barra da Tijuca and Recreio dos Bandeirantes, upscale neighborhoods in the western zone of Rio de Janeiro. Investigators discovered that the criminal group used a complex money laundering system, investing profits from arms trafficking in the purchase of real estate, high-value assets, and the creation of shell companies operated by front men.

This new phase of the investigations is an offshoot of... Operation Lord of ArmsThe operation, carried out in 2017, resulted in the seizure of 60 rifles at Galeão International Airport. At the time, the existence of a constant flow of weapons arriving in Rio de Janeiro was already known, but only now has the Federal Police identified the true leader of the scheme and his participation in the criminal structure that supplied factions with weapons of war.

Those involved in the criminal organization will be indicted for international arms trafficking, organized crime, money laundering, tax evasion, active and passive corruption. The name of the operation is... Cash CourierThis refers to the group's tactic of moving large amounts of cash without leaving any incriminating bank records.

The revelation that a former federal police officer led a scheme of this magnitude sheds new light on the connections between organized crime and the sectors that should be fighting it. The Federal Police continues to deepen its investigations to identify other possible individuals involved in the criminal structure.