Influencer and lawyer arrested for cocaine trafficking linked to Italian 'Ndrangheta
Paula Simões and lawyer Patrick Cardoso were arrested on suspicion of leading a cocaine export scheme to Europe linked to the Calabrian mafia.
Operation dismantles international trafficking network with roots in Calabrian mafia
Digital influencer Paula Simões and lawyer Patrick Cardoso were arrested in a joint operation by Brazilian and Italian police, suspected of commanding an international cocaine trafficking scheme linked to 'Ndrangheta, a mafia organisation originating from Calabria in southern Italy. According to g1.globo.com, the investigation revealed that the group exported the drug from the port of Paranaguá in Paraná, with destinations in Europe.
The operation is a continuation of a series of investigations initiated in 2019, when Nicola Assisi and his son Patrick Assisi — members of 'Ndrangheta — were found hiding in Praia Grande on the São Paulo coast. Paula Simões is married to Patrick Assisi and, according to investigators, began to represent her husband's criminal activities after his arrest.
Lawyer Patrick Cardoso, who defended the imprisoned mafiosi, allegedly acted as an intermediary between his incarcerated clients and members of the organisation who remained at large. "The wife of one of these mafiosi exchanged many messages with a lawyer, who was their representative when they were arrested, discussing drug suppliers and debt payments. And conversations there with very strong indicators of international drug trafficking activity," said Eduardo Verza, the Federal Police delegate responsible for the case.
According to the Federal Police, Cardoso used the privileges of his profession and confidential contact with clients to relay messages from the mafiosi. Investigators identified photographs of handwritten notes and of the mafia members themselves, taken inside the Federal Police headquarters in São Paulo. In the notes, the mafiosi transmitted instructions about the organisation's business, including information about the group's debtors.
In one of the intercepted letters, Patrick Assisi instructed his wife to send an associate known as "BXX" to recover money and goods that could be sold. Testimony from a member of 'Ndrangheta in Italy helped confirm that there was new leadership of the organisation in Brazil.
'Ndrangheta made an exception to its own internal rules to allow Paula to hold this position. "Under the mafia's own rules, normally a woman does not have such prominence. But in this case, she did," revealed delegate Verza.
When Paula and Patrick Cardoso took over the illicit operations, the group maintained more than two tonnes of cocaine in stock. In conversations intercepted via an application used exclusively by criminals, Paula's husband's associates discussed matters related to trafficking. In a message exchange in Italian, Paula negotiated the sending of 400 kilogrammes of cocaine to Europe, with the price per kilogramme set at around 5,150 reais at the port in Paranaguá, including freight.
On Patrick Cardoso's mobile phone, police found photographs of him alongside drugs and large sums of money. According to investigators, the lawyer also engaged in criminal activities with members of Comando Vermelho.
The third person arrested in the operation is Franklin Rodrigues de Oliveira, identified as the "BXX" mentioned in the letters. Franklin had been part of the gang since when Nicola and Patrick Assisi were still at large, being responsible for drug shipments and the group's payments. He also acted as a link between 'Ndrangheta and Brazilian criminal factions. During the operation, he attempted to flee but was detained in a garage.
Franklin was a partner of Willian Barile, arrested in 2025 and known as a "jack-of-all-trades" for Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC). The connection reinforces what Italian investigators describe as a systematic approach by the Calabrian mafia towards South American organisations. "The 'Ndrangheta has had the capacity to develop close and strong relationships with South American organisations, such as Colombian cartels, as well as the PCC and Comando Vermelho in Brazil," said Andrea Caputo, a colonel of the Italian police.
In 2020, Brazil and Italy, with Interpol's support, began jointly investigating this mafia's operations — both in Brazil and in European countries. The group used the logistics of the port of Paranaguá to export cocaine in containers and resorted to money changers for the movement of funds obtained.
The defendants' legal representatives presented different versions. Franklin Rodrigues's lawyers stated they would not comment on the accusations and would demonstrate their client's innocence in court. Patrick Cardoso's defence declared that the lawyer always acted within the legal limits of his profession over 25 years of career and that he has already filed a request to revoke the preventive detention. Paula Simões's lawyer stated that she denies all accusations, that no drug was seized in her possession and that the suspicions of continuation of criminal activities after the Assisi arrests are "inferences by the police authority, not proven facts".
Source: Google News BR — São Paulo