On Tuesday, Brazil’s Federal Police struck another blow against a drug trafficking network led by former military police major Sergio Carvalho, who is in pre-trial detention in Belgium.
Operation Catrapo II took place in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso (where Sergio Carvalho is from), Amazonas, Ceara, Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina and Sao Paulo.
The goal, as stated on the PF website, was “decapitalization of the drug trafficking network.” Thus, luxury items such as an airplane, several expensive watches and vehicles with an estimated value of 100 million reais (18 million euros) were confiscated.
Federal police believe these are assets acquired to launder money from the cocaine trade.
During the first part of Operation Catrapo, carried out in July 2022, 16 defendants were charged with international drug trafficking and assets worth €9 million were seized, as well as 2.1 tons of cocaine.
Sergio Carvalho’s network has been under investigation in Brazil for several years now, with the support of police forces in various countries, including the Portuguese Judicial Police.
The group is believed to use airfields and private property in the Brazilian interior to transport drugs to Europe by air.
Author: Miguel Curado
Source: CM Jornal
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