Leader of PCC shot in Concepción: who is Júnior Trindade
Engri Júnior de Almeida Maia, accused head of the ADE gang linked to the PCC, was wounded by gunfire during a confrontation in Concepción, Bolivia. He had been a fugitive from Brazilian justice for more than four years.
Brazilian criminal leader wounded in shootout with Bolivian Police in Concepción
Engri Júnior de Almeida Maia, a Brazilian citizen accused of leading the Associação Amigos do Estado (ADE), an organisation linked to the First Command of Capital (PCC), was shot on Saturday 24 October during an armed confrontation in the municipality of Concepción, in the cruceña province of Guarayos. This is reported by El Deber, which identified the wounded man as one of Brazil's most wanted fugitives.
The incident occurred in the afternoon, near the municipal cemetery in Concepción. According to Bolivia's Government Minister, Marco Antonio Oviedo, Júnior Trindade—as he is also known—was called "Pablo Escobar Goiás" in his country.
Who is Engri Júnior de Almeida Maia
Brazilian authorities identify him as founder and principal leader of the ADE, a criminal organisation that emerged approximately ten years ago in the municipality of Trindade, in the metropolitan region of Goiânia. The group operates in drug trafficking, money laundering and violent crimes, and maintains operational links with the PCC, one of Brazil's largest criminal organisations.
According to reports from Brazil's Federal Police, the organisation he led moved at least 70 million reais—approximately 14 million dollars—through financial operations linked to the PCC. The Public Prosecution Service of Goiás estimates that the accumulated economic movement since the group's creation could reach 1,000 million reais, equivalent to approximately 2.3 million bolivianos.
Brazilian investigations also held Júnior Trindade responsible for 40 per cent of all homicides recorded in the state of Goiás during 2021, crimes committed by the ADE gang in confrontations for territorial control in that region.
Four years a fugitive before the shootout in Bolivia
The Brazilian had been evading justice for more than four years. He has a record of previous detentions and escapes: in 2016 he was captured in the state of Bahia, but managed to escape from prison and remained a fugitive until Saturday 24 October, when the exchange of gunfire occurred with the Bolivian Police in Concepción.
The authorities who arrived at the scene were also met with gunfire. The subjects involved fled. At the site of the confrontation, a grey Ford pick-up truck with at least ten bullet impacts was found, along with a white Toyota Hilux.
Following the shootout, the Brazilian's companions allegedly forced a taxi driver to hand over his vehicle to transport the wounded man to César Banzer Municipal Hospital. The vehicle was abandoned at the health facility, where investigators found spent cartridges from large-calibre weapons.
His girlfriend detained whilst attempting to obtain a small aircraft
During subsequent investigations, police apprehended Larisa R. de O., 25 years old, identified as Júnior Trindade's girlfriend. She was intercepted while carrying out arrangements to obtain a small aircraft that would allow the wounded man to be evacuated to Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
Júnior Trindade is currently admitted to a private clinic in the cruceña capital. Bolivian authorities reported that he lived in Santa Cruz and possessed around twenty properties and vehicles in the country.
Links with drug trafficking from Bolivia to Brazil
Brazilian investigations link the ADE to the transport of drug consignments from Bolivia to Brazilian territory. According to Federal Police reports, the faction used rural properties in the state of Tocantins as logistical centres to receive and distribute controlled substances, a structure that allowed the organisation to expand its operations and become one of the principal targets of investigations into organised crime in Goiás.
Source: El Deber