A Civil police seized more than a ton of cocaine in an action against organized crime on the coast of São Paulo, where Operation Verão has been operating since the end of last year.
According to information from the State Public Security Secretariat, investigators from the State Department of Criminal Investigations (Deic) arrived at a house in Jardim Progresso, in Guarujá, where they found just over 1.2 tons of cocaine packaged and separated into 1.3 thousand bricks.
A 25-year-old woman who was at the scene was arrested and charged with drug trafficking and association with drug trafficking.
According to the department, the property was one of the warehouses used strategically to facilitate the transportation of drugs through the channels to the Port of Santoswhere it would probably be loaded onto ships.
O Estadão showed that the First Capital Command (PCC)the largest criminal faction on the continent, has been hiding increasing volume of cocaine in ship hulls to evade the authorities. Ports are the main exit route for narcotics towards Africa and Europe.
Last year, 1.68 tons of cocaine was seized from ship hulls in the Port of Santos by military divers, more than triple the 483 kilos intercepted in 2020, according to a Navy report.
Data from Santos Customs gathered by USP’s Center for Violence Studies shows how underwater trafficking has grown. In 2020, the proportion of drugs found in ship hulls was 2.3% of the amount. In 2023, until August alone, the share jumped to 13.5%.
According to SSP estimates, in the European and Asian markets, each kilogram of the drug seized could cost up to 80 to 90 thousand dollars, with the total amount seized could reach half a billion reais in profit for organized crime cashiers.
The Secretary of Public Security, Guilherme Derrite, justified the continuation of Operation Verão in view of the impact against the criminal network in the region. “This is proof of what we are facing on the coast of São Paulo: criminals who, over decades, structured an illicit chain through international drug trafficking and who, this time, are being dismantled.”
Lethality recorded in operation motivates criticism from entities
The São Paulo Police Ombudsman’s Office and the National Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office, together with social movements, asked the management Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans), from the government of São Paulo, the immediate end of Operation Escudo/Verão, in addition to collective financial reparation for alleged human rights violations committed by the PM in Baixada Santista.
Deaths committed by military and civil police officers doubled at the beginning of this year in State of São Paulo. They were 147 records in January and February, compared to 74 cases recorded in the same months of 2023, according to data from State Public Security Secretariat (SSP) brought together by the Sou da Paz Institute.
This is the highest level since 2020. The Public Security Secretariat (SSP) said, in a note, that thes Security forces “are legalistic institutions that operate strictly within their constitutional duty, following strict operational protocols.” The ministry also said that “excesses, indiscipline or misconduct are not tolerated”.
The entities also call for the mandatory use of body cameras and the creation of internal protocols at the SSP to prevent what they call “revenge operations” after the deaths of police officers.
The recommendations are part of a report released at a public hearing on Monday, 25th. The report was delivered to the Public Ministry, which will continue investigations into the operations. The State says that at least 53 people died in alleged clashes with the police during the action, which also continues throughout this month and has no end date
The document brings allegations of alleged summary execution, torture, intentional obstruction of body cameras, procedural fraud with changing the location of the crime, modification of crime scenes, threats and intimidation in Guarujá, São Vicente, Santos and Cubatão.
“We didn’t come to talk bad about the police. There is no problem with the police entering the territory. What we don’t want is for the police to attack people and take away their right to citizenship”, says Claudio Silva, ombudsman for the State Police.
