Operation Serra do Cafezal arrests six suspects in cargo robbery on BR-116 in São Paulo
Federal Highway Police, special organised crime task force and Civil Police dismantle gang operating on Régis Bittencourt Highway. Six people arrested and more than 150 police officers mobilised.
Task force executes warrants against cargo robbery gang on Régis Bittencourt
The Federal Highway Police (PRF), the Special Task Force to Combat Organised Crime (GAECO) of the São Paulo Public Ministry and the Civil Police of the state launched Operation Serra do Cafezal in the early hours of Friday (6). According to gov.br, the operation targets 14 individuals and aims to dismantle a gang under investigation for robberies of cargo vehicles on BR-116, along the Régis Bittencourt Highway stretch, with activity also in areas adjacent to federal roads.
To date, PRF teams have executed five arrest warrants. A sixth person was arrested in flagrante after police found a shotgun, ammunition and communication radios during the execution of a judicial search and seizure order. The summary is preliminary and may be updated during the day.
According to intelligence findings, those under investigation forced motorists to stop near a community and compelled them to hand over their cargo.
To execute the judicial orders, the operation mobilised more than 150 police officers from eight states in the Northeast, Southeast and South regions, with support from a helicopter, sniffer dogs, drones and motorcycle officers. The Public Ministry is represented by eight prosecutors and GAECO staff members. Three Civil Police teams are working with more than twenty police officers on three of the warrants.
The operation is part of actions supported by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security through the National Network for Combating Cargo Robbery and Theft (Redecarga), whose intelligence and technologies were used in planning the operation.
Source: Google News BR — São Paulo