The former councilor of the city of Novo Cruzeiro, Valdeci Passos Soares, was arrested last Wednesday (1) in the United States. The former city councilor in Vale do Jequitinhonha, in Minas Gerais, was reported to the Public Ministry (MPMG) in 2021 for drug trafficking, and has been on the run since then.
According to the complaint, he was one of the leaders of drug trafficking in the region and even used official city vehicles for criminal activities.
According to the MPMG, Valdeci kept more than 1kg of marijuana in storage at home, as well as ammunition and a 9mm pistol magazine. The material was seized, on August 27, 2021, during an action by the Minas Military Police to execute a search and seizure warrant at the former councilor’s residence.
At the time, Valdeci, better known as “Calango”, would have fled the scene and, later, the city, with his wife and four children. The former parliamentarian’s wife, at the time, was also an employee of the local city hall, where he held office.
As investigations began, authorities discovered that the family was hiding in Sorocaba, in the interior of São Paulo. Afterwards, Valdeci would have traveled to the USA with his wife and only his youngest son, leaving the others in the city of São Paulo.
The arrest warrant for Valdeci was published on the Interpol Red List. As investigated by the Military Police of Minas Gerais, the suspect was residing on North American soil in the city of Sacramento, California. After another escape, he was arrested in the city of Sandy, Utah, by the United States Department of Homeland Security.
The Brazilian, who was in the USA illegally, could be deported by American authorities at any time. CNN sought Valdeci Passos Soares’ defense to comment on the accusations, but until the publication of this text, it had not received any response.
