Agents from the Narcotics Repression Police Station (DRE) arrested, this Tuesday (7), the second man of a pair who negotiated weapons stolen from the Brazilian Army War Arsenal in Barueri, São Paulo, in 2023. He was found in the Brás de Pina neighborhood, in the north of the capital of Rio de Janeiro.
The action is part of the 2nd phase of Operation Tormentorum Venditor (Artillery Merchant). A preventive arrest warrant was served against him. The man is also investigated for being part of a large money laundering scheme. Another member of the pair had already been arrested, suspected of the negotiation, in the 1st phase of the operation, which took place in April. According to investigations, the two together have an extensive criminal record.
After the theft of Army weapons, the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro recovered, in October last year, four 50-caliber machine guns and four other MAGs, 7.62 caliber. The weapon was located in a stolen car and abandoned in one of the access points of Gardênia Azul, in the west zone of Rio. At the beginning of November, two more 50 caliber machine guns were recovered, in Praia da Reserva, in the same region.
The Public Security Secretariat of the state of São Paulo reported that an investigation was opened to determine the circumstances of the disappearance and to recover the weapons. The city of Cajamar reported that the agents responsible for monitoring the equipment were removed from their duties, in addition to the opening of an investigation.
The Military Public Ministry charged eight people, four civilians and four military personnel. The weapons were found with members of organized crime and 19 of the 21 weapons were recovered.
