The Federal Police (PF) arrested three Brazilians on the Interpol red list at Fortaleza International Airport. The chronicle reveals that they are Lurian de Almeida Venâncio, Cristiane Souza dos Santos and Danilo José Marques de Oliveira.
They were arrested on Tuesday (12/9) as they disembarked from a flight from Portugal. The arrests were made as part of Operation Anansi, launched this Wednesday (10) by the PF and the Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco) of the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) in Salvador (BA).
Read also
-
Mirelle Pinheiro
“Brazilian Narcofleet”: fishermen become drug traffickers
The investigation targets a transnational criminal organization that used fishing boats to transport large shipments of cocaine from the far south of Bahia to Europe.
The capture of the trio, considered strategic in the structure of the project, consolidates one of the main fronts of the operation, international cooperation.
According to sources heard by the chronicle, the return of the three men to Brazil had been monitored since their departure from Portugal. The PF and European authorities maintained a continuous exchange of information until the arrest at Ceará airport.
The PF stressed that the group had been in business for at least four to five years and had a turnover of around 1 billion reais during this period.
The diagram
The operation of the project depended on a combination of factors: the strategic position of the northeast coast and the experience of the local fishing community.
European traffickers recruited Brazilian fishermen with sturdy vessels and knowledge of navigation on the high seas.
These Brazilians began operating adapted ships, with hidden compartments and enlarged fuel tanks, forming a sort of “narco fleet” designed to transport cocaine over long sea routes.
The operation carried out 22 search and seizure warrants and 10 preventive arrest warrants, in addition to the judicial blocking of 50 million reais of assets and valuables.
About The Author
