Who is the police officer arrested on suspicion of maintaining an ‘extortion room’ in a police station that invented crimes in the interior of SP | Campinas and Region

According to prosecutors, Clésio maintained in the 1st Police District (DP) of Indaiatuba a “extortion room”where police threatened to impute crimes to detainees if they did not pay bribes to the gang.

“It is well described in the investigation a room that we call an extortion room, where drugs were placed on the table and there was a victim who was handcuffed with clear indications of, look, accept the deal or these illicit substances will be yours”, explained the prosecutor of Justice Paulo Carolis.

Prosecutor claims that there was an “extortion room” in the 1st DP of Indaiatuba

A EPTVan affiliate of Globo, the defense of delegate José Clésio Silva de Oliveira Filho said he would not comment yet because the case files are under judicial secrecy.

When contacted, the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat (SSP-SP) did not respond until the last update of this report.

Clésio began his career as a police chief in 2010 in the capital’s police stations and arrived in Indaiatuba in March 2021 as assistant police chief of the 1st Police District. In January 2023, with the transfer of the then holder to Campinas, he was appointed head delegate of the city’s 1st DP.

The person being investigated was promoted to 1st class delegate (second highest rank for delegates) by governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) on August 15, 2023. According to a publication in the Official Gazette, the promotion was due to “merit”. In the position, Clésio had a gross remuneration of R$29,657.20 in February this year.

According to prosecutors, investigations indicate that the chief deputy of the 1st DP of Indaiatuba was the head of the criminal organization and that the other members worked in groups within the scheme, the so-called actuation cells.

• Civil police and municipal guards: They invaded commercial establishments to create false accusations against businesspeople and improperly seize goods and money.
• Lawyers: They acted as intermediaries in the payment of bribes, counting and transporting the money, in addition to charging fees on the amounts extorted.
• Commissioned servers: they worked in contact with the extorted businessmen in order to collect the previously demanded bribes.

“The delegate, at this point in the investigation, was credited with leading this situation because he effectively signed the documents, such as reports and the opening of a police investigation. And the elements are indicative that the bribes were intended for him.”, explained Paulo Carolis, Gaeco promoter.

According to Carolis, these were the divisions of tasks determined so far by the investigation and which can be better detailed when the complaint is filed in court.

The suspicion is that those under investigation have demanded at least R$10 million in bribes since 2022, to archive investigations that were fabricated by the suspects. Among the victims, around 10 owners of commercial establishments, such as supermarkets, clothing stores and vehicle parking lots.

Find out how a scheme that forged investigations to extort businesspeople worked

According to the Public Ministry, 14 temporary arrest warrants, valid for 30 days, were issued by the Court and 13 were executed, with one remaining at large. Detentions can be extended for another 30 days or converted into preventive detention (for an indefinite period).

• Clésio, the delegate of the 1st DP of Indaiatuba;
• A clerk;
• Two investigators, one woman arrested at her home in Itu (SP);
• Two municipal guards;
• Three lawyers;
• Three commissioned employees from Indaiatuba City Hall;
• An inspector from Indaiatuba City Hall;
• A fourteenth individual on the run.

As determined by the Court, 17 search and seizure warrants were also issued. All fulfilled this Thursday:

• At the addresses of the 14 investigated;
• In the 1st DP building of Indaiatuba;
• In two law firms.

• Extortion through restriction of freedom
• Criminal Organization
• Theft
• Theft
• Active corruption

According to Gaeco, the Indaiatuba group prepared police reports, inquiries and investigation reports to support demand for payments as a “ransom” price for any arrests ordered or guarantees of non-investigation.

The name of the operation, “Chicago”, refers to the American city of the 20s and 30s, when gangsters ruled the city “based on violence, disregarding the law and creating fortunes through crime.” At least 15 prosecutors, 10 public prosecutors, 94 military police officers and 19 civil police officers participated in the operation.