Asunción, Dec 19 (EFE). – At least nine people died and ten were arrested, including two Brazilians, in an operation by anti-drug agents against an alleged gang accused of trafficking weapons, drugs and other crimes in the Paraguayan department of Canindeyú (East), bordering Brazil.
“Ignis”, as the operation was named, was announced in a press conference by the Minister of the National Anti-Drug Secretariat (Senad), Jalil Rachid, and of the Interior, Enrique Riera when they communicated the results of several raids in different parts of Canindeyú.
The operation, which included air and land transfers and led to some confrontations, was directed against an alleged criminal organization led by Santiago Acosta, known as “Macho,” who managed to escape.
However, among the nine detained was the Brazilian Ricardo Luiz Picolotto Pedroso who would be the boss of “Macho,” reported the Minister of Senad, Jalil Rachid.
Rachid indicated that Acosta and the Brazilian Ricardo Luis Picolotto were the “main targets.”
Additional information stated that Acosta provided logistics, while Picolotto, a Brazilian national, is considered the “ringleader.” According to references and background, he is part of the First Capital Command (PCC).”
According to InSight Crime, the PCC is a gang made up of prisoners who organized groups to defend themselves in Brazil’s violent prison system.
The PCC emerged in São Paulo in the 1990s and has waged a bloody struggle for dominance throughout the country. It is currently the largest and best-organized criminal organization in Brazil, and is believed to have members in most of the country’s states and operations abroad, in South American countries, Europe and Asia.
In addition to Picolotto, the Brazilian Gabriel Fernando De Santos is also among those detained. The rest of the detainees are of Paraguayan nationality.
The authorities also confiscated an arsenal that included an anti-aircraft machine gun and ammunition.
In an interview with EFE, Senad’s communications director, Francisco Ayala, explained that the gang is accused of managing the production and collection of marijuana in Canindeyú, as well as managing clandestine airstrips used to transport cocaine.
They are also accused of trafficking weapons to Brazil and collecting “tribute” from other criminal organizations in the area, the spokesman added.EFE
lb/mcd/dgp
