The Federal Police (PF) launched Operation Maritimum this Wednesday morning (13), which aims to dismantle a criminal organization specialized in international drug trafficking and money laundering that operated in ports in Brazil and abroad.
About 350 federal police officers and 28 police officers from the Special Operations Battalion of the Military Police of Rio Grande do Norte (BOPE-PM/RN) fulfill 46 search and seizure warrants issued by the 2nd Criminal Court of Federal Justice/RN in the states of Rio Grande do Norte, São Paulo, Bahia, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Ceará and Pará.
During the investigations, which began at the end of 2021, a logistical group responsible for the transport and storage of the drug from the Brazilian border with producing countries was identified and, then, the “contamination” was carried out, that is, they introduced narcotics into the loads of fruit. and other goods destined for European ports.
During the police investigation, drug seizures were carried out in the ports of Santos (SP), Salvador (BA), Natal (RN), Fortaleza (CE) and Barcarena (PA), in addition to the interception of cargo in the European countries of destination (Belgium). , France and the Netherlands), totaling around eight tonnes of cocaine seized during the investigation.
The PF also identified that three of the biggest traffickers active in Brazil were recipients of this drug abroad, one of them recently arrested in Hungary.
In addition to the members of the operational nucleus of the gang, several individuals and companies were used to launder criminal money, hiding and disguising the origin of illicit values in order to create a structured network of international drug trafficking through the export of goods. . At this point, the blocking of the amount of R$ 169.6 million in the bank accounts of the investigated was granted.
The prisoners in this operation are being sent to the PF headquarters in Rio Grande do Norte, São Paulo, Bahia, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, Ceará and Pará, and must respond to the extent of their participation for the crimes of integrating a criminal organization (art. 2 of Law No. 12,850/2013); international drug trafficking (art. 33, caput c/c 40, item I, of Law No. 11,343/2006) and money laundering (art. 1 of Law No. 9,613/1988), among others under investigation.
The name of the operation is an allusion to the method used by the criminal organization to export cocaine to European ports.
Source: CNN Brasil
