Prosecution Service accuses 18 of trafficking cocaine to Europe in fruit containers

The Brazilian Federal Prosecution Service denounced 18 people accused of being part of criminal groups that sent cocaine in fruit containers to Europe through the port of Salvador. This results from Operation Decontamination, which enacted 12 search and seizure warrants and eight preventive arrests in April this year in several cities of Bahia and São Paulo.

The Prosecution Service denounced those involved for forming a criminal organization for trafficking, international drug trafficking, money laundering, and falsifying public documents. According to the investigations, the scheme created the conditions for port staff to put narcotics into containers bound for the European continent. The Federal Court of Bahia will now analyze the process.

The warrants were carried out in Salvador, Lauro de Freitas and Feira de Santana, and in the São Paulo municipalities of Sorocaba, Salto, Santos and São Vicente. Four of the accused remain in prison, and two others remain under electronic monitoring.

In September 2021, three employees were arrested at the Container Terminal of the port of Salvador after placing 165 kilos of cocaine in a container destined for Europe. According to the Federal Police, Operation Decontamination has already carried out six cocaine seizures in Brazil and abroad, totaling about 3.5 tonnes of the drug.

The Federal Police launched Operation Decontamination and the Federal Revenue Service, in continuation of investigations started in 2019, which sought to dismantle the criminal organization.

The Federal Court will analyze the denouncement so that criminal action can be instituted against the accused. If the process continues, the accused will become defendants, and the judge will decide on possible conviction and application of penalties by law.

The Brazilian Federal Prosecution Service and Federal Government continue investigating other crimes and other people’s involvement in the criminal organization.

Source: Estadão

To read the full original article, please go to: https://politica.estadao.com.br/blogs/fausto-macedo/procuradoria-denuncia-18-por-trafico-de-cocaina-para-a-europa-em-conteineres-de-frutas-pelo-porto-de-salvador/

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