Operation arrests 17 and targets organization led from London in Paraná

An operation of the Paraná Civil Police (PCPR) ended with 17 people arrested on Thursday during an offensive against a criminal organization investigated for drug trafficking, association for trafficking and money laundering. According to the investigation, one of the main suppliers and leaders of the scheme currently lives in London, England, from where he would command part of the criminal activities on the Paraná.

The action mobilized approximately 100 civilian police officers in Maringá, Sarandi and Praia de Leste, at Paraná, in addition to Franco da Rocha, at São Paulo. The operation also included helicopters and lighthouse dogs.

Operation seizes drugs and blocks accounts

During the operation, 14 arrest warrants, 14 search and seizure warrants, 16 bank account blocking measures and a vehicle hijacking order were carried out.

In the addresses investigated, the police located approximately 15 kilograms of marijuana and cocaine. Three other people were arrested in flagrante, bringing the total number of prisoners in the action to 17.

The objective of the measures, according to PCPR, is to reach different stages of the criminal structure, from the supply and storage of drugs to the distribution and movement of money obtained from the trafficking.

Drugs were even sold by delivery

The investigation began about a year ago, after arrests related to the distribution of drugs in Sarandi. The deepening of the investigations revealed, according to the Civil Police, a larger structure responsible for the supply and marketing of narcotics in Sarandi and Maringá.

One of the strategies used by the group would be the sale of drugs through a delivery system, with members responsible for deliveries to consumers.

The organization would have specific division of functions, involving leaders, wholesale suppliers, responsible for the storage and fractionation of narcotics, distributors, deliverers and financial operators.

Suspect commanded England scheme

One of the main points revealed by the investigation is that the leaders and suppliers did not necessarily live in the region where the drugs were marketed.

According to the delegate Leandro Munin, one of the main suppliers investigated and pointed out as leadership of the organization currently lives in London and would use the internet to remotely coordinate the supply of narcotics.

Another supplier considered relevant to the investigation was located in Praia de Leste, on the coast of Paraná.

Police Investigate Money Laundering

In addition to the trafficking, the investigation identified people who allegedly made bank accounts available to receive and move money from the commercialization of drugs.

The Civil Police work with indications of mechanisms used to hide or disguise the illicit origin of values. Therefore, the Court authorized the blocking of accounts and measures of patrimonial restriction.

The investigation also found possible links between members of the scheme and a criminal organization with national action. According to PCPR, one of the people involved in the investigations is the nephew of a man who was named as the leader of this organization in Paraná and who is currently in Paraguay.

Investigations continue to identify other potential participants and deepen the tracking of the group’s financial movement.