Federal Police Conduct Operation “Marco 334” in Southern States
SAO PAULO, Brazil - Federal Police (PF) in Mato Grosso do Sul set out early Wednesday to arrest five gangs of Paraguayan cigarette smugglers. The groups were operating on the border between Brazil and Paraguay, near the towns of Eldorado and Mundo Novo. Smugglers were sending the contraband to the states of Sao Paulo, Parana, Minas Gerais and Goias.
Operation Marco 334 (photo: douradosagora.com.br)
The operation, named Marco 334 involved 169 federal police officers and 40 vehicles. The police served 26 arrest warrants and 37 search warrants. They also served Federal Court orders on banks freezing and seizing 81 accounts that authorities say the smugglers used to manage money. Authorities are investigating ownership of 31 properties, which may also be subject to seizure.
According to investigators, in addition to cigarettes, the criminal gangs also traded in weapons, ammunition, medicines, electronics, tires and pesticides. Those arrested are facing a variety of charges including, smuggling, embezzlement, conspiracy, bribery, accepting bribes and facilitation of smuggling.
During 17 months of investigations, the PF initiated 40 separate cases arresting 57 people and seizing 72 trucks, trailers and 22 million packages of cigarettes. The unpaid taxes on the seized product were at least 6.2 million U.S. dollars. In other operations in the border area since 2009, police have seized 41 million packs of cigarettes and arrested 106 people involved in smuggling.
This morning police raided sites in the cities of Campo Grande, Navirai, Mundo Novo, Eldorado, Sete Quedas, Tres Lagoas, Itaquirai, Itapora and Caarapo Guaira.
The name of the operation, Marco 334, alludes to border marker 334, the epicenter around which the smugglers based their operations. The number, 334, is also the number from the Brazilian Penal Code that criminalizes smuggling of contraband.
Brazilian online news source: terra.com.br
Read also: More Articles from Brazil Dispatch
Do you like this post? Please link back to this article by copying one of the codes below.
HTML link code:
0 comments:
Post a Comment