On March 9, 2021, Brazilian Federal Police (PF, in Portuguese) agents arrested seven men carrying more than 1 ton of cocaine at Santos Port, São Paulo. The drug was bound for Antwerp, Belgium.
Police officers were dispatched when surveillance cameras detected the suspicious movements of a truck inside one of the port terminals.
When police stopped the truck at the terminal exit, they arrested the driver and five other men who were hiding in the back of the vehicle.
“The individuals were dressed like ninjas, all in black,” said the PF in a statement.
“In the vehicle, two .40 caliber pistols, ammunition, and a .556 caliber rifle were seized, as well as several container seals still intact, pliers, and five cell phones,” said the PF. “In the container contaminated by the criminal group, 32 bags full of cocaine packages, totaling 1,111 kilograms, were found.”
In addition to the six men, another port employee who assisted the criminal organization was arrested.
On February 21, with support from the Military Police and the Civil Police Air Operations Group, the PF caught three traffickers loading 220 kg of cocaine into a helicopter in the rural area of Santa Monica, northwestern region of Paraná.
“This region, close to Paraguay, […] will always deal with this type of illicit behavior, that is, the transport of large amounts of drugs in aircraft and vehicles,” said Maringá PF Deputy César Luiz Busto de Souza, in a statement to CBN radio.
According to him, traffickers transport cocaine from Paraguay to São Paulo, the country’s main consumer center. “We are talking about large criminal organizations. It is likely that the drug would then be destined for Europe, considering the amount,” said Souza.
On February 12, the PF confiscated another 220 kg of cocaine, which was also bound for Europe, from Paranaguá Port, in Paraná.
“The drug was inside a container loaded with wooden slabs and was destined for a port in Belgium,” the PF said.
