Police Arrest 13 For
Drug Trafficking By Mail
In Brazil
Brazil's Federal Police
(PF) arrested 13 people
on Tuesday morning as
part of an operation
against an international
drug traffic gang that
sent cocaine via mail.
The arrests took place
in the towns of Rio
Branco and
Epitaciolandia, in the
northern state of Acre,
Porto Velho, in Rondonia
state, and Fortaleza, in
Ceara state. Two
suspects have yet to be
caught. Thirteen search
warrants have been
issued.
According to the Federal
Police, the gang was
based in Bolivia and the
Brazilian state of Acre,
in the northern part of
the country. The
criminals were being
investigated since 2006,
when the police
discovered that a dealer
identified only as
Cristiano had fled from
Brazil to the city of
Cobija, Bolivia, from
where he began to
operate his gang.
Cristiano used the
internet to communicate
with the other members
of the gang, and the
mail to send cocaine to
them. Most of the drug
was sent to the city of
Fortaleza, in Ceara
state, in the
northeastern part of the
country, from where it
was sent to several
places both in Brazil
and abroad. The police
also found out that the
cocaine was being sent
to nearby Rondonia
state.
The dealer had a front
company in Brasileia,
Acre, near the Brasil-Bolivia
border, to launder the
money from his drug
traffic operations. It
is estimated that the
gang earnt over one
million reais(625,000
U.S. dollars) in 2007.
All of the accused were
charged with
international drug
traffic, criminal
associations and money
laundering. It is the
second large operation
against drug traffic
made by the Federal
Police in the Acre state
in July.
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