The lack of police personnel may have contributed to the eviction of about 2,000 residents from their homes by a criminal faction in the Urabunga area, in the municipality of Morada Nova, in Ceará.
The municipal headquarters currently has only six military police officers on continuous duty and one work vehicle. Morada Nova has a population of 60,000, about half of whom live in the headquarters.
In the Weerabunga area, a second car with three men on board is still parked at the old municipal school in the village. Since the residents were expelled by order of the faction, the school has stopped operating. Currently, only five families remain there.
Even with the expulsion of the population, the force of the Morada Nova was not reinforced by the Ceará Military Police, under the command of Governor Elmano de Freitas (PT).
The only operational vehicle at the headquarters is shared by the six military police officers, who rotate in two teams of three men each. The city also did not receive additional vehicles.
The Military Police of Morada Nova has four other vehicles, but they have been parked for months in a mechanical workshop located in the neighboring municipality of Quixadá (CE). The vehicles are sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickup trucks.
When contacted, the PM-CE informed that police in the city receive occasional reinforcements from the Police Command for Intensive and Overt Tours and Operations (CPRAIO) and the Specialized Internal Police Battalion (BEPI). Police officers from these two groups go to Morada Nova “on strategic days and times.”
The 3rd Company of the 9th Military Police Battalion of Ceara, based in Morada Nova, has a staff of 81 police officers “responsible for maintaining security at the municipal headquarters and its districts,” the Ceara Security Secretariat said in a memorandum.
However, the column found that the third company mentioned in the memo is responsible for other sites in the area besides Morada Nova, such as Ipequitenga and Jaguaretama, among others.
The General Secretariat also said that from August until now, 45 other people have been arrested in connection with population evictions in the state. Furthermore, there are currently 31 open investigations conducted by the Civil Police of Ceará against this type of crime (lsee below).
An aerial view of the Weerrabunga area (CE)
The residents were evicted on the orders of drug trafficker Jose Whitales da Silva Nazario, known as “Playboy”, in July this year. As the article showed, the Court of Justice of Ceará (TJCE) acquitted Whittals of the charge of belonging to a criminal faction. The decision is from September 2024.
After the incident, the Prime Minister of Ceará launched an operation Operation “occupation” in the Urabunga area. However, the residents did not return.
The state Public Security Secretariat was also contacted for comment. There was no response at the time of writing this report.
The expulsion of residents led to executions and the discovery of bodies in the square
To force the residents to leave, the Playboy gang executed a man named José Aldevan Bezerra de Freitas, aged 50. His body, his head destroyed by a bullet from a 12-gauge rifle, was discovered in Orabunga’s main square.
Execution of José Odivan Bezerra de Freitas, 50, and display of his body in Urabunga Square
As the column showedexpelled the residents by order of Playboy magazine as part of a plan against the group of his former ally Gilberto de Oliveira Cazoza “Mingão”.
According to people close to the case, Playboy’s goal was to dismantle the support network that had allowed the Mingau gang to remain hidden in Caatinga.
Mingau and his companions had help from Urabunga residents, who took medicine, prepared meals and warned of the arrival of the police.
Playboy was denounced by the Public Ministry of Ceará (MPCE) for forming a criminal organization, illegal possession of a firearm, corruption of minors, reception and resistance. At the time, he was part of the group known as the “Guardians of the State,” or GDE, a local faction in Ceará, according to the MPCE.
However, for the judge of the Criminal Organizations Court of the District of Fortaleza, There was not enough evidence to convict Playboy. The court rejected the prosecutor’s complaint as unfounded, and acquitted José Whittals da Silva Nazario of all the crimes he was accused of. A release permit was then issued.
Prime Minister of Ceará: Brigades go to Morada Nova “on strategic days and times”
When contacted, the Prime Minister of Ceará said that policing in Morada Nova is sometimes reinforced by police officers from other groups, such as the Command of the Police of Tours and Intensive and Comprehensive Operations (CPRAIO) and the Specialized Battalion of Internal Police (BEPI). According to the Prime Minister, these brigades operate on “strategic days and times.”
The Prime Minister said the measures in Morada Nova focus on “preventing illegal activities, increasing the sense of security and maintaining public order.”
Read the full memo sent by the company below:
“The Military Police of Ceará (PMCE) reports that policing in the city of Morada Nova is carried out day in and day out by the Policía Comprehensive (POG), operating through the 3rd Company of the 9th Battalion.
Furthermore, the patrols are supported by specialist teams from the Police Command for Intensive and Overt Tours and Operations (CPRAIO) and the Specialized Battalion of Internal Police (BEPI), which are deployed on strategic days and times.
The procedures were developed in an integrated, strategic manner and based on data obtained through intelligence. The focus is on preventing illegal activities, increasing the sense of security and maintaining public order.
PMCE reinforces its ongoing commitment to the safety and well-being of the residents of Ceará and highlights that the company remains available to the community via Telephone 190, a dedicated channel for registering incidents and complaints.
Security Secretariat: The practice is being combated in Ceará
In a note for the report, the Ceará Secretariat of Public Security and Social Defense (SSPDS-CE) said the practice of population eviction is being combated in the state through “mapping, surveillance and arrests” of those involved.
He also said that 45 people involved in evictions in the state have already been arrested since August. Furthermore, there are currently 31 open investigations being conducted by the Civil Police of Ceará against this type of crime.
Read the full note from the Secretariat below:
“The Secretariat of Public Security and Social Defense of Ceara (SSPDS-CE) reports that it has made efforts, through the Coordinators of Intelligence (Coin/SSPDS) and Operational Planning (Copol/SSPDS), together with the Civil Police of the State of Ceara (PCCE) and the Army of Ceara (PMCE), to reduce episodes of threats and forced population displacement.
Between August and November 8 of this year, 45 suspects were arrested for executing arrest warrants or for their involvement in forced displacement incidents.
Currently, PCCE is conducting 31 investigations. The practice, recorded in several states across the country and which is part of how criminal groups operate when there is tension between them, has been combated in Ceará through mapping, monitoring and arresting suspects.
In the municipality of Morada Nova, part of the Integrated Security Region 20 of the state, 13 suspects were arrested following arrest warrants related to incidents of forced displacement.
The Military Police of Ceará (PMCE), through the 3rd Company of the 9th Military Police Battalion (3rd CIA/9th BPM), based in Morada Nova, has a staff of 81 military police officers responsible for policing the municipal headquarters and its districts, such as Urabunga, which has undertaken police reform.
The municipality also has reinforcements with 52 military police officers serving in the Specialized Police of the Tactical Force (FT) and the Police Command for Intensive and Overt Tours and Operations (CPRaio). The actions also have the support of the Rural Tactical Command (Cotar/PMCE).
The SSPDS also highlights that the ongoing work of the State Security Forces has already led to the arrest or seizure of 1,851 people, actually or under warrant, for being part of criminal organisations, between January and September of this year in Ceará.
This figure represents an 86.6% increase compared to the same period last year, when 992 people were arrested. In September this year alone, the number of arrests and seizures for being part of a criminal organization rose by 279.8% compared to the same period in 2024.
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