Key takeaways
- Brazil has dismantled a trafficking network that shipped more than 6.5 tons of cocaine to Europe since 2021.
- Operation Commodity led to 13 arrests and the freezing of nearly $196 million in illicit assets.
- Criminals used a luxury car dealership and front companies to launder drug money through cryptocurrency.
Operation Commodity Takes Down 6.5 Tons of Cocaine Crypto Money Laundering Ring in Brazil
Brazil’s federal police have taken action against a high-profile drug trafficking network that used cryptocurrency to launder funds obtained for its narcotics export activities to Europe.
On Thursday, Brazilian federal police announced the results of Operation Commodity, which shut down the activities of a group that used the port of Rio de Janeiro to smuggle cocaine hidden in shipments of coffee, cement and mortar mainly destined for Europe, using a logistics network spanning South America, Europe and Asia.
Investigations report more than 6.5 tonnes of cocaine processed by the group since 2021 to various European countries, including France, Belgium, Germany, Slovenia and Spain.
During the operation, which included actions in São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina and Espírito Santo, 13 preventive arrests and 44 searches and seizures were carried out, with the courts ordering the seizure of assets and freezing of property to the tune of one billion reais (nearly $196 million). A shootout broke out in one of these locations, and a suspect died from gunshot wounds while resisting.
The group had ties to Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV), two criminal organizations that the Trump administration designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) and which had previously been targeted as part of Operation Exchange, which dismantled a $2 billion crypto money laundering ring earlier this month.
Police said a luxury car dealership in the São Paulo metropolitan area, which offered Ferrari, Porsche, Corvette and Land Rover vehicles, was part of the operation that used front companies to launder drug trafficking proceeds using cryptocurrency.
Through these shell companies, operators issued invoices without supporting documents, introducing these funds into the Brazilian financial system and using cryptocurrency to conceal and obscure their transactions.
“The suspects will be held responsible, to the extent of their responsibilities, for the crimes of transnational criminal organization, international drug trafficking and money laundering, without prejudice to any other offenses that may come to light during the investigation,” he added. concludes the federal police.
