Cocaine seizure reinforces suspicion of Rio Grande being on the maritime drug trafficking route

The seizure of 136 kilos of cocaine by the Federal Police on a docked ship in the early hours of May 7 only added to the suspicion that the port of Rio Grande is part of the international drug trafficking route.

The newspaper Correio do Povo found that the São Paulo-based criminal faction Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) found ways to ship cocaine in ports like Santos (São Paulo), Itajaí (Santa Catarina) and Paranaguá (Paraná).

Last April, the Military Brigade announced the seizure of 333 kilos of cocaine in Montevideo, Uruguay, coming from the port of Rio Grande. The investigations showed that the drug, originally from Colombia, was destined for the ports of Rio Grande and Montevideo. A part of the drug would supply the local market, and the rest would be redirected to other countries.

The international drug trafficking dominated by the PCC initiates in coca plantations in Andean countries and continues via land, river, and air routes to Brazil. The cocaine then arrives at major Brazilian ports to be sent to other countries.

In March of this year, the Federal Police and the Federal Revenue carried out two operations to dismantle criminal organizations specialized in international drug trafficking between Brazil and Europe, from the port of Paranaguá, in Paraná.

The investigative work pointed out that cocaine was inserted by divers into the submerged compartment of ships or hidden in containers without the exporter’s knowledge, being concealed inside legal cargoes of goods.

In the case of May 7’s act, the Federal Police found that two divers had placed the cocaine on a ship sailing with the flag of the Marshall Islands, coming from Argentina, and which was destined precisely for the Port of Las Palmas in Spain. The vessel was moored at a terminal in the port of Rio Grande.

With the support of the Brazilian Navy, the drug was located submerged, in a compartment of the ship’s hull, below the waterline, technically called a “sea box,” packed in bags. The Federal Police will now try to identify those involved and have already opened an investigation.

Source: Correio do Povo

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https://www.correiodopovo.com.br/not%C3%ADcias/pol%C3%ADcia/apreens%C3%A3o-de-coca%C3%ADna-refor%C3%A7a-suspeita-de-rio-grande-estar-na-rota-mar%C3%ADtima-do-tr%C3%A1fico-de-drogas-1.818898

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