On Tuesday 16 April, the Federal Police launched Operation Narco Grooming, with the aim of combating a criminal group involved in a scheme to recruit and finance "mules" for interstate drug trafficking. The operation is mobilising more than 70 federal police officers, who are carrying out 4 preventive arrest warrants, 8 precautionary measures other than imprisonment, 18 search and seizure warrants and the hijacking of 44 vehicles in Manaus and Tabatinga, in the interior of Amazonas, and in the city of Sorocaba, in the state of São Paulo. Using a sniffer dog, an individual was arrested red-handed with more than 10kg of drugs at the international airport in Manaus. The investigations revealed the existence of a criminal group that recruited and financed individuals who transported drugs to other Brazilian states, especially São Paulo. The person who received the drugs and the drug trafficker were also identified. In addition, it was possible to identify those responsible for laundering the criminal group's money, who used intermediaries (oranges), front companies, among other techniques for money laundering, such as buying and selling vehicles. The precautionary measures granted by the courts are aimed at obtaining evidence of the crimes under investigation, as well as deepening the investigation into the origin and destination of the drugs and identifying other people involved. The penalties for the offences of drug trafficking, association to drug trafficking and money laundering can exceed 30 years in prison.

Source: Amazon Agency