Attempts to inhibit looting of trains heading to the Port of Santos

The trains of railway companies that transport cargo to the Port of Santos are under attack by a criminal network that loots wagons and commits vandalism.  The main targets are wagons with soybeans, sugar, meat and fuel.  Last year alone, at least 110 occurrences of the type were registered in Civil Police stations in Baixada Santista.

 The successive attacks led the Military Police to launch, on January 20, a special operation against train looting.  At least 22 suspects were arrested.

 According to the National Association of Railway Transporters (ANTF), the actions of criminals specializing in cargo theft endangers the safety of the population and causes damage to the country’s economy.

 On January 25, two railroad security guards — a municipal civil guard and a retired military police officer — were shot dead when they tried to prevent the looting of a train, in Vila Esperança, in Cubatão.  Three suspects were arrested.  The death of the agents is being investigated, as it occurred during a shootout in which military police from the Special Operations Command (COE) were also trying to prevent the attack on the wagons.

 On January 22, a train carrying sugar in bulk to the Port of Santos was attacked in the mainland area of ​​São Vicente.  The looters obstructed the line, forcing the train to stop, and opened six carriages.  The cargo spread along the tracks, also reaching a road adjacent to the Padre Manuel da Nóbrega Highway (SP-55).  It took five days to remove the product from the site.

 On the 24th, monitoring cameras caught two men on a train, looting the cargo, in Cubatão.  A third suspect lost his balance while trying to climb onto the moving wagon, fell and was nearly run over.  The other men managed to remove bags of produce from the wagon and throw them alongside the railroad tracks.

 On the 30th, another train was the target of criminals when passing through São Vicente.  The bandits opened the soybean wagons and tons of the product spilled onto the tracks.  The composition was forced to stop due to the spillage of the cargo.

 Last October, in Cubatão, a mob looted a container car carrying a load of beef to the Port of Santos.  The roof of the wagon was cut by the looters to remove the boxes with pieces of meat.  The product came from a refrigerator in Rondonópolis (MT) and would be shipped on a ship at the Port of Santos.  The crowd dispersed as the police arrived.

Prison and recuperation of cargo

The military police has tried to close in on the criminals. On the 26th of January, at Vila Esperança, in Cubatao, ten members of a train attack gang were arrested.  With them, the PM seized 129 bags of soybeans stolen from wagons.

 On February 1, a man was arrested with seven bags of sugar in his car, also in Cubatão.

 Rumo informed, in a note, that the successive attacks harm the railway operation, the safety of the community around the railway and the Brazilian economy.

 MRS Logística, which had wagons set on fire, declared that, although the occurrences were occasional on its rail network, “in view of the impacts on national logistics, we believe that the competent authorities will continue to act to solve the problem”.

 VLI said it monitors its assets to ensure that transported cargo arrives at its destination unchanged.

 The Command of the 21st Military Police Battalion, in Guarujá, informed that, until the 26th, it will carry out an operation to protect freight trains destined for the Port of Santos.

 The Civil Police reported investigating the thefts and theft of cargo from wagons, with partial recovery of goods.

 Source: A Tribuna

 To read the original report, visit: https://www.atribuna.com.br/noticias/portomar/acoes-tentam-inibir-saques-a-trens-em-direcao-ao-porto-de-santos

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