Bolivian Police detain and expel senior PCC member from Brazil in Santa Cruz
Bolivia's police arrested Marco de Oliveira Ferreira, a PCC member, following a domestic incident in Santa Cruz. He was living under a false identity and has three outstanding convictions.
PCC member detained in Santa Cruz to be expelled from Bolivia
Bolivia's police detained a senior member of the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), a Brazilian criminal organisation, after responding to a domestic incident in the Pampa de la Isla area of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, eju.tv reported.
Bolivian police commander Adrián Álvarez identified the detainee as Marco de Oliveira Ferreira. According to Álvarez, the Brazilian was in the country illegally, operating under a false identity, and had an extensive criminal record for drug trafficking, contract killing and criminal organisation, with three outstanding conviction orders against him.
Officers who responded to the call about the domestic incident recognised the suspect, who was being sought by the police intelligence unit. Álvarez stated that all established protocols were followed and that an expulsion order was issued to be executed in the following hours.
The arrest comes as part of the 'Plan Fronteras Seguras' (Secure Borders Plan), recently launched by the government of Rodrigo Paz following a surge in violence in Santa Cruz. Among the most serious incidents was the shooting death of four civilians and an intelligence officer in the border town of San Matías in August.
Bolivian authorities attribute several of these crimes to the dispute between the PCC and the Comando Vermelho (CV) for control of drug trafficking routes on the Bolivia-Brazil border, a conflict that has intensified violence in the Chiquitania and Bolivian Amazon regions.
In response to this pressure, the government announced that Brazil's Federal Police will soon establish a permanent office in Bolivia to strengthen cooperation and information sharing between the two countries. Last week, government minister Marco Antonio Oviedo announced the creation of two elite units in areas near the Brazilian border, with support from the United States, aimed at combating drug trafficking-related violence.
Source: eju.tv / El Deber / Agencia EFE
Source: Google News BO — Crime