PDI and Public Prosecutor's Office dismantle first PCC cell in Chile: 20 detained
The Anti-Narcotics Brigade of the PDI and the Southern Metropolitan Regional Public Prosecutor's Office dismantled the first cell of the First Command of the Capital established in Chile, resulting in 20 arrests.
Twenty detained in operation dismantling PCC cell in Chilean territory
The Southern Metropolitan Regional Public Prosecutor's Office and the Anti-Narcotics Brigade (Briant) of the Police Investigations Department of Chile (PDI) dismantled the first cell of the Brazilian criminal organisation First Command of the Capital (PCC) established in the country, latercera.com reported. The operation resulted in 20 people detained.
Of that total, 13 were arrested inside penitentiary centres, five in their homes through search warrants and two in flagrant circumstances, while carrying drugs or weapons.
Two years of investigation and international cooperation
Prefect inspector Erick Menay, national head of Organised Crime at the PDI, described the operation as "historic". According to Menay, the investigative process extended for more than two years, during which it was possible to detect "in an anticipatory manner the recruitment manoeuvres, initiation and baptism that the First Command of the Capital from Brazil was managing".
The police chief emphasised that investigative actions aimed at criminal prosecution made it possible to "cut off the probability and possibility that this group would have become established and would have committed the atrocious crimes it commits in the region".
Southern Metropolitan Regional Prosecutor Héctor Barros clarified that the investigation into the presence of this organisation in Chile began in 2022, which involved "a series of investment of resources and time". Barros noted that what was dismantled corresponded to "a structure that was already beginning its operations, that was involved in some crimes". The capture of those charged was also possible thanks to international cooperation, the prosecutor highlighted.
Barros also drew a parallel with another foreign gang active in the region: "Perhaps if we had not become aware of this now we would have faced a new scourge, as happened to us with Tren de Aragua". In that vein, he stated that the decision was "to act before these structures become entrenched in the country and are no longer controllable by public security agencies".
Operation Sintonía 1533: raids in three regions and nine prisons
Final proceedings were carried out under the operation designated Sintonía 1533. Within the framework of that procedure, communications were analysed and police information was cross-referenced, entries and searches were conducted at 24 residences distributed across three regions of the country and approximately nine penitentiary centres were raided. These actions resulted in the detention of five of the 20 charged.
The hearing to formalise charges against the detained was scheduled for Thursday, 1 October.
Security Minister Arrau calls for recognition of international organised crime threat
Minister of Security Martín Arrau valued the work of the Public Prosecutor's Office and the PDI and warned that the operation constitutes "a new light of alert" regarding the implications of organised crime in the country.
"When we talk about organised crime, international gangs, there are certain people in a kind of denial. What we see here is the dismantling of a first PCC cell in our country", the cabinet minister stated.
Arrau maintained that Chile believed for decades to be immune to international organised crime, but that perception no longer holds. In that context, he called for putting "all possible tools on the table" so that the Public Prosecutor's Office, the police and the system as a whole can confront this threat "with all tools also of international cooperation to move more rapidly in halting this threat that threatens freedom, stability and security throughout the region".
Source: Google News CL — Crime