Operation “Lords of Crime” arrests 13 suspects and dismantles drug trafficking group in RS

Photo: Reproduction/RBSTV

This Wednesday (3), the Civil Police arrested 13 individuals suspected of belonging to a criminal organization involved in drug trafficking in Rio Grande do Sul. According to investigations, in recent months, the group moved around R$14 million.

The operation, entitled “Lords of Crime”, is the result of a 10-month investigation. The focus of the action was on the organization’s leaders and founders, as well as managers and operators in several cities, including Porto Alegre, Santa Maria, Viamão and Gravataí, in addition to the prison system.

Delegate Alencar Carraro, director of investigations, explains that the action aims to combat money laundering from drug trafficking carried out by the top brass of the criminal organization, based in the east and south zones of the capital.

25 search and seizure warrants were executed, in addition to 13 preventive arrest warrants. Five properties were confiscated and 42 CPFs had their bank assets blocked.

During the 11-month investigation, the Civil Police gathered evidence of money laundering using pass-through accounts, a method that uses third parties to hide the origin of funds and avoid detection by authorities.

The evidence also revealed negotiations for territorial control in the capital by criminal organizations, distribution of money, cases of homicides, formation of new dissident organizations and even the appointment of wives to take command on behalf of their companions.

The criminal organization’s connection with another based in Rio de Janeiro, operating on a national level, was proven, as well as links with other gangs in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul. The objective of these associations is the distribution of drugs on a large scale.