Brazil police conclude largest ever cocaine in-port seizure

On the evening of November 4, the Brazilian Federal Police seized 2.75 tonnes of cocaine at the Port of Vila do Conde in the state of Pará. Investigations point that the drug was bound for the European city of Sines, in Portugal.

Federal Revenue agents confirmed to the UOL press agency that this was the largest-ever cocaine seizure recorded in a port. The drug was hidden in a container, camouflaged inside bags of soybean meal. The agents said that no one was arrested during the operation.

The feds will start a new investigation based on the operation in the 4th to try to identify and arrest the gang members responsible for placing the drug inside the container.

“Para-Portugal” route

Federal security agencies know the route as fluvial access to European markets.

According to the Federal Police, in 2021 and 2022, at least five tonnes of cocaine were found in the Pará-based port of Vila do Conde. The last seizure took place on October 5, 2022. Agents found 320 kg of the drug amid a shipment of açaí.

The investigation of this occurrence resulted in the arrest of three people from Paraná in Portugal. One of them is Lieutenant Aderaldo Pereira de Freitas Neto, from the Military Police of Pará. They are facing charges of international drug trafficking, association with a criminal organization, and money laundering.

The ‘Brazilian Escobar’

The investigations showed that Freitas Neto was part of the gang of Ruben Oliveira, 38, Xuxas, considered one of the most active drug traffickers in Portugal, and of the Brazilian Sérgio Roberto de Carvalho, 63, also known as Major Carvalho, a former military police officer from Mato Grosso do Sul.

Carvalho is known in Europe as “the Brazilian Escobar.” The nickname is an allusion to Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar. The major was arrested in Hungary on June 21 this year and is expected to be extradited to Brazil. Xuxas was arrested a week later in Portugal.

Source: Uol

To read the full original article, please go to: https://noticias.uol.com.br/colunas/josmar-jozino/2022/11/05/pf-apreende-27-t-de-cocaina-no-pa-a-maior-realizada-em-portos-do-brasil.htm

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