Tourist extortion suspect arrested while boarding Belo cruise

Alex da Silva Chaves, 35, wanted for extortion of tourists at Guarulhos airport, São Paulo, was arrested on Saturday evening (13/12), while trying to board the themed cruise of pagoda singer Belo, in the port of Santos, on the south coast of São Paulo.

According to the police report, the suspect was already wanted since the 11th of this month, when a preventive arrest warrant was issued by the Cajamar district, in the São Paulo metropolitan region. He was identified by Civil Police officers from the 3rd Tourist Assistance Police Station (Deatur), at the Guarulhos International Airport, with the support of the 5th Deatur from the Port of Santos.

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Along with the man arrested, police found drugs

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Airport Tourist Extortion Suspect Arrested While Boarding Belo Cruise Ship

Disclosure/São Paulo Civil Police

The “Beautiful on the High Seas” cruise, aboard the MSC Preziosa ship, was docked at the “Giusfredo Santini” maritime passenger terminal and was destined for the cities of Búzios and Angra dos Reis, in Rio de Janeiro.

In addition to Chaves, police also found three bottles of marijuana, three bottles of hashish and three bottles of MD. The man told police the drugs were intended for personal use inside the cruise ship.

Extortion scams

According to the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP), Chaves worked on a recurring basis offering clandestine transportation to passengers, particularly foreigners, when they disembarked at Guarulhos international airport.
At their destination, victims were subjected to abusive and intimidating accusations, including threats to hold their luggage to force payment.
The investigation revealed that the suspect was using rental vehicles for criminal purposes.
The suspect had already been charged with misdemeanor embezzlement.

After being arrested, the man was taken to the Santos 5th Police District Public Jail, where he appeared in court for the custody hearing.