He was one of Brazil’s most wanted criminals after he escaped from Caradiru prison in 1999 and has now been detained in Mozambique. Gilberto Aparecido dos Santos, better known as Fuminho, is an alleged leader of the First Capital Command (PCC), one of the most relevant criminal groups in South America and was arrested Monday in a Maputo hotel in an international operation that included agents from Brazil, Mozambique and the US drug trafficking agency, the DEA.
Fuminho is accused of carrying out major international cocaine trafficking operations in the service of the largest gang in Brazil and had arrived in Mozambique in mid-March, with the Maputo police now investigating the connections that this Brazilian had in the Portuguese-speaking African country.
The choice of the African country does not surprise those responsible for Brazilian justice. Attorney Lincoln Gakiya, from Gaeco (Special Action Group and Combating Organized Crime), said that African countries are highly sought after by drug trafficking to serve as a gateway for drugs in Europe. Cited by the State of São Paulo, Gakiya said that traffickers even use private jets to travel between countries.
Mozambique was already referred to as one of the countries where more drugs circulate to Europe and other continents. Fuminho would now be leading operations in this area after feeling a tighter siege in South America, pursued by Brazilian and American authorities.
In a luxury hotel and injured in the foot
The Brazilian was arrested while in a luxury hotel in Maputo in the company of two Nigerians. He had returned from a clinic where he treated a foot injury and had been under surveillance for days. During the capture operation, police officers found two Nigerian passports and a fake Brazilian passport, 100 grams of marijuana, 15 cell phones, five bags, a car, 34,700 meticals (Mozambican currency, equivalent to 470 euros) and 5,000 rand ( 250 euros) in cash and three watches, said Leonardo Simbine, a spokesman for the Mozambican police.
“He does not operate alone, he is part of a group,” said the spokesman, before adding: “We are still investigating to see if he has connections in Mozambique. He is a drug lord, a warrant for his arrest was already falling on him. International.” When asked about an extradition to Brazil, the head of the Mozambican police considered it premature to speak on the topic. “We will later comment on that,” he concluded. But Brazil will request his extradition and the police operation was only possible with the work of Brazilians and Americans.
Sérgio Moro, Minister of Justice of Brazil, reacted with satisfaction to this arrest and promised that there will be a commitment to his extradition.
We will work with the Mozambican authorities to bring you to Brazil where you will be responsible for your crimes. Complete news in https://t.co/XEbJlV2Xou
– Sergio Moro (@SF_Moro) April 13, 2020
Fuminho was said to be “the largest supplier of cocaine to a faction operating throughout Brazil, in addition to being responsible for sending tons of the drug to several countries in the world,” said the Federal Police (PF) of Brazil in a statement released on Monday -market.
The PCC emerged in the 1990s in prisons in São Paulo and is, according to security experts, one of the largest and most well-structured criminal groups in Brazil. In recent years, it has expanded to several Brazilian states, easily imposing itself in an attempt to control the cocaine route originating in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, the largest producers, whose destination is, in many situations, Europe, O Brazil is the main exporter of South American cocaine.
The leader of the PCC, Marcos Willians Herbas Camacho, known as Marcola, is serving a sentence of more than 200 years in prison, in a prison in Brasília, under a strong security device. According to the PF of Brazil. Fuminho was his right-hand man and would be funding an ambitious plan for Marcola’s escape from prison.
According to the Brazilian press, the PF of Brazil, with support from the DEA, had been following Fuminho for several weeks. The dealer will have been in Bolivia before heading to Africa. When he was arrested at the Maputo hotel, he was injured in one foot and showed no resistance.
Fuminho had connections with several organized crime groups, from the South Americans to the Italian mafia. Brazilian officials believe that this arrest is a severe blow to drug trafficking and will be a turning point.
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