Federal Court in Pernambuco condemns 5 for transporting the largest load of cocaine ever seized on the Brazilian coast


Cocana was seized by the PF (Photo: Archive/DP)

The Federal Court in Pernambuco (JFPE) sentenced five people involved in the case that became known as “the largest seizure of cocaine to occur on the Brazilian coast”.

In September last year, 3.62 tons of the drug were seized.

The drug was on a ship passing along the coast of Pernambuco.

This week, the 13th Federal Court of Pernambuco convicted Manoel Pedro Vicente Filho, Luciano Costa de Paula, Marcelo Bernardino da Silva, Pedro Paulo Andrietti and Robson Querino Araújo for international drug trafficking.

The accused had been arrested red-handed on September 19, 2023.

They were intercepted adrift, in joint action by the Special Maritime Police Group of the Federal Police of Rio Grande do Norte and the Brazilian Navy.

“They transported the illicit cargo on the “Palmares I” boat, whose engine and documentation were tampered with,” said the JFPE.

Verdict

In the sentence, it was proven that those involved acted with a division of tasks.

Manoel Pedro Vicente Filho managed the functions of Marcelo Bernardino da Silva (first mate), Luciano Costa de Paula (mechanic), Pedro Paulo Andrietti (electrician) and Robson Querino Araújo (general services).

Manoel Pedro received a greater sentence, 17 years and 6 months in prison, because of his leading role in the action.

The others were sentenced to 14 years in prison. All remain in preventive detention.

How it was

They practiced cabotage navigation with scheduled stops in port cities such as Búzios/RJ and Salvador/BA.

A final docking was scheduled in Natal/RN and, then, according to the GPS attached to the vessel, they would continue their journey to Liberia, in Northwest Africa.

The geographical position of that country would facilitate the flow of cocaine through the interior of that continent and across Europe.

The five accused were acquitted of the charge of association for trafficking, due to the lack of evidence that the alliance had served to commit other crimes, in addition to the trafficking for which they were convicted.