Three Brazilians accused of laundering almost 900,000 euros from cocaine trafficking
Porto's Public Ministry has accused three Brazilian citizens and a company of money laundering. The money is believed to originate from international drug trafficking.
Three Brazilians accused of laundering almost 900,000 euros from cocaine trafficking
The Department of Investigation and Criminal Action in Porto filed charges against three individuals of Brazilian origin and a company. The charges, dated 7 May, were made public by the Porto District General Prosecutor's Office, according to information from Correio da Manhã.
According to the case file, the suspects established a firm whose sole purpose would be to channel monetary values linked to the illicit drug trade at an international level. Through a bank account opened in the name of the said company, sums totalling around 899,000 euros were deposited. These transfers were allegedly concealed through non-existent invoicing documents.
One of the three defendants had already been sentenced by Brazilian courts for operations involving smuggling of illicit substances. In that case, between May and October 2020, Brazilian security forces seized 2,724 kilograms of cocaine concealed in a shipment of maize transported by sea. The cargo was ultimately destined for the European continent.
Simultaneously with the trafficking operations, those implicated remotely managed the movements of the company account. The values recorded in it concerned compensation for the drugs and the logistical costs inherent in transport.
Precautionary measures were imposed in the fight against money laundering, with 875,689 euros being frozen. The prosecution also requested the confiscation for the State of all illicit proceeds in the company account.
Source: Correio da Manhã