The Brazilian Federal Police and the Ministry of Finance have launched the final phase of operations "Océano Branco" and "Contentor", which aim to dismantle an international cocaine trafficking network in the seaports of the state of Santa Catarina (south).
"In the In two operations, drugs were seized in Brazil and abroad, in international police cooperation procedures", reported the Federal police it's a statement.
450 Federal Police officers are taking part in this phase of the operation, and they are aiming to arrest 60 people in Rio Grande do Sul, Pernambuco, São Paulo, Paraíba and Rio de Janeiro.
The First investigations began in 2016 and enabled large drug seizures: a total of 10,5 tons of cocaine, some of which were intercepted in countries such as Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
In some cases Drugs were purchased in the border area between Brazil and Colombia and they arrived in southern Brazil via small planes.
From there, the drugs were taken in large bags to later be placed in containers that would leave through the port of Itapoá (state of Santa Catarina).
In other cases, police discovered that the drugs were hidden in loads of merchandise such as coils of fencing, canned pineapple and granite blocks.
The detainees will be charged with international drug trafficking, which in Brazil can lead to 25 years in prison.
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